At Orn, we have a proud tradition of challenging LARP conventions. Sometimes this works out (e.g., the PvP system, random treasure draws) and sometimes it doesn't (e.g., flails, cabin defenses), but we never stop experimenting and we never assume that the way everyone else does something is the way we ought to go.
Nick, Jennifer, and I have been discussing a reorganization for next year that impacts a system we've never really tried to improve: The plot team. At most LARPs, you'll find a dedicated staff of people who run the events, make story decisions, and generally act in the same capacity as tabletop storytellers or game masters. We've got the same thing and, other than offering these hard-working people a chance to play their PCs, we haven't thought of a better way to organize things.
This hasn't been without problems. Much of the onus for the success of the game rests with a single person, the Head of Plot. Plot members are ascribed elevated status in the community, often having their purview confused with that of ownership. Accusations of favoritism, largely undeserved, plague the team when a player feels they're not liked or not getting enough attention. On the whole, it is a passable system, but it creates an undesired social dynamic, a disparity of responsibility and authority for a group of participants who we always intended to be another kind of player.
One thing I've learned over the years is that designing a LARP is as much about social engineering as it is about game mechanics. For this reason, Nick, Jennifer, and I are considering a shift in the way we do things next year. Here are a few of our ideas:
Producer - The Head of Plot role will be scaled back. The Producer will assume the responsibilities of reviewing content, arranging the schedule, and licensing storytellers. The role will be chiefly organizational, a quality control checkpoint for game content with little to no direct influence on the story.
Storyteller - Any player may volunteer to create game content (adventures, encounters, open play activities, etc.). This content is written beforehand and submitted to the producer for feedback, approval, and scheduling. A licensed storyteller will always be present when content is run, and licenses will be given out to storytellers after they've proven they can handle themselves.
There are several key differences between storytellers and plot members.
- When they're not running content, storytellers will be players just like everyone else, with no authority to run content beyond what the producer has approved.
- Because storytelling will be open to everyone, the collection of people who handle it will range among a larger group. The same people won't have to run content every event, thus avoiding burnout, and the stories themselves will be more varied and cater to a broader array of interests.
- Storytellers will be decentralized, running content on their own and collaborating with other storytellers only as much as they care to. The producer will keep storytellers from stepping on each others' toes or overstepping their bounds, but storytellers will have broad freedom to write the content they want and work as independently as they choose. Using this setup, large story lines will be achieved between events (e.g., sequels to previous adventures run by the same storyteller) rather than within them.
Den Keeper - This role will remain largely unchanged, though others may become licensed to perform it. The Den Keeper will arrange monsters and props as directed by the Producer, maintain the organization of the Dragon's Den, and send random encounters into open play.
Integrated Scheduling & Feedback - Signing up as a storyteller or den keeper will be similar to signing up for monster duty. Game content will be posted to the website and added to the schedule by the producer, after which point players will see the title of the content, the storyteller running it, when it's occurring, and a teaser description (i.e., mod titles directly on the schedule rather in than separate forum posts). Seeding will occur in comments on the adventure itself. After events, players will receive a form that allows them to give feedback and ratings to the specific content they participated in.
I want to be clear: This is just an idea right now. We're presenting it early to get feedback before making a decision. It's not intended as a judgment of any plot member, past or present. If anything, it reflects our concern for the difficulties the plot team faces and our desire to make a system where storytelling is fun, drama-free, and a collective responsibility, the way it ought to be.
Please keep an open mind and share your thoughts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the producer create content?
We may need someone else to vet it to avoid conflicts of interest, but yes. If we're inviting everyone to create content, I see no reason the producer can't as well. And, just like everyone else, they're not required to do so during months when they're not willing or able for some reason.
Will there be oversight and assistance for inexperienced storytellers?
As stated in the original post, the producer will sanity check any content before it gets approved for play. This includes things like making sure the encounters are balanced, story actions are brainstormed, there's enough content to fill the time, and so forth. When the content is actually run by an unlicensed storyteller, a licensed storyteller will be assigned to assist and supervise.
Part of the concern here is the ambiguity of the editorial process. I've got a short list of standards the producer will enforce to give you all an idea. Ownership approval will be required for any form of lasting reward (e.g., treasure, XP, respending, titles, traits, etc.). Likewise for anything that alters lore or features the direct appearance of a named person or object from lore (e.g., immortals and artifacts). I emphasize freedom, but there will be clear boundaries, as well. These will become more clear as we develop them.
What if people write stories for their friends/group/loved ones?
We sincerely hope they do. A major goal is to give folks the freedom to write the sort of stories they want to see. Is it favoritism? Maybe. Is it fair? Yes, because everyone can do it. Don't think your group's getting enough attention? Who better to write something for them than you yourself?
What if there's not enough content? What if someone doesn't show up?
Then the producer taps people as necessary. Just like Jennifer getting folks to fill empty clean-up slots on Sunday morning, if a job needs filling, all we generally have to do is ask and somebody steps up. If we didn't already have a helpful community of willing volunteers, this game wouldn't exist.
A big part of this "if" that folks aren't seeing is the incentives. Of course there will be boon, but storytelling will feature other benefits, including a waiver of your game dues as it does now. Whether or not it's someone's sworn responsibility, we're confident the perks will be enough to get folks on board.
Won't the producer be accused of favoritism?
Having a human gatekeeper is necessary to maintain the quality of the game. A side effect is that any judgment call they make can be construed as favoritism. We can help avoid this by making the criteria for acceptable content clear and open to the public. There may also need to be a system for fairly determining who's next in line to get on the schedule, possibly based on past performance or public polling. This will need to be mapped out along with the editorial process.
What about overarching plot lines and themes? What about the finale? Where will storytellers get support? Who will they bounce ideas off of?
Like Jennifer said, there's nothing stopping storytellers from coordinating their efforts if they so choose. It just won't be mandatory any more. If the folks writing want to work separately, then each adventure will be its own story. If they feel like working together, then they will mesh. When cohesion does exist, it will be stronger and more organic because the folks doing it will want to do it instead of being forced to. My guess is we'll get a mix of stand-alone and cooperative.
Will storytellers have access to old content?
I don't see why not. The aggregate ratings may be available, as well, so folks can see which content worked and which didn't. In fact, we may open them up for everyone to see after they've been run. This can help with accountability, too, since folks will be able to tell how the written story differed from what was run.
What will happen to plot notes?
I'm not sure on this one. It may be that they become open to any licensed storyteller. On that note, I do plan to open up other information to the public. Monster stats, for instance, will be publicly accessible for planning purposes the same way lore is, with the same stipulation that folks can remember whatever they read.
Can someone write content without running it?
Yes. Writing content with be worth something and running it will be worth something else. If you do both, you get both. For the aspiring writers out there, I plan to make it so you only get boon when the content actually gets used. That gives you incentive to write something folks want to run, or else work collaboratively with someone dedicated to running it for you.
Obviously, there will need to be some oversight to avoid folks going on content they helped write. It's fine if you want to see a story in play, but storytelling is about writing for others, not yourself.
Will we still use the schedule?
Yes. We are adamant that things will still be arranged into the same four-hour shifts. There are too many logistical advantages to do away with it. That being said, I'd love to give the producer some leeway with how many slots a particular shift gets divided into. I'll keep everyone apprised as I work out a way to accomplish this while maintaining the RSVP system.
How will downtime story lines work (e.g., plot forum threads and private messages)?
Just like any other content, this will be something any storyteller can run (with oversight if unlicensed) with approval from the producer.
Will there be a waiting period before a new player can submit content?
I think there should be. At a minimum, the same three-game waiting period to flag should probably apply. We'll need to discuss the policy among ownership, but I feel confident the answer will be yes.
Will storytellers be able to adjust content on the fly, or address spontaneous story developments in play?
To paraphrase, "No game plan survives first contact with players." Yes, there will need to be some leeway. That being said, there's a clear difference between adjusting on the fly and running something completely different. The producer will need to be told about anything that deviates too far from the approved content soon after it happens. Likewise, we can still run small story segments on the fly. They'll just need to be passed by the producer for approval first. Plot members already have to ask such approval from the Head of Plot, so this really isn't any different than we're doing now.
While I can understand some of the concerns listed above, this only seems to be a renaming of the current system. It takes out the plot team but leaves a HOP. This system will have the same issues, just put into a harder job for the HOP or producer.
You are in essence asking someone to read content, approve it, plan the events but never actually get to run content of their own. If that is what the intent is, then I may just be set in how I view the process. Personally I think this takes a lot of the creativity and fun out of being a plotter, and isnt really a job that I think many people will gravitate towards.
Next I think that the reason the formula for runniing LARPs similarly comes down to the efficiency of running things logistically coupled with having a consistency of content being run. The current system has younger members intentionally coupled with more experienced plot membbers to help them get used to running content for players. By opening up the process you run the risk of having inconsistent content being run with little to no oversight.
Another hurdle with this is that it doesnt solve the issue of perceived favoritism. Rather than "my character isnt gettiing any personal attention" it becomes "the producer wont let me run the content that I write." Any person who has ever been on the plot team will attest that the process of getting a mod to the game is often the hardest part. Ensuring the lore is correct, scaling monsters, and ensuring that the content you write can be run in a fun manner takes a lot of editing and coordination.
With a set team you know ahead of time that you are signing up for a year long commitment. Having plot meetings is essential to running a successful event and you can plan out times for plot meetngs. It becomes increasingly difficult to plan an event when you have to cooridinate between a seperate group of people on a monthly basis. Another thing to consider along this vein is the attendance history of people. If people do not attend regularly or RSVP yes and do not show to run their content, that puts a major strain on staff to either fill that content slot and adds even more stress to staff at the event.
Nothing infuriiates me more than just hearing why an idea of mine wont work without having feedback as to how It could be made better. So I will try to offer suggestions to how to incorporate the themes of these changes into the current system.
One of the reasons I believe this system has been put on the table is because of the perception of favoritism in the game. From a player's perspective it may appear that plot just hasnt given your character much attention. There are a lot of things that I think players dont know or understand when it comes down to how these things are looked at. Some of the thoughts that go into this are whether you have a character that has been in play for awhile, when the llast time your character received attention, whether you are attending with regularity, when the last time you received any disciplinary action, and whether the setting or theme for the next event is relevant to your character.
I dont see any difference with favoritism of my character and whether the samme people are getting to run their mods in the new system. With a game thiis large, we as players have to engage iin the story ourselves. I say it in every noob mod I run that this is a social game and that our level of involvement is up to us as players. A great example of people getting immersed and iinvolving themselves in the story were the trials we had this year. 3 players stayed iin play ,roleplayed with an NPC to take an assassination contract, and were caught by players in the act. The only things that were run by staff iin all of that was putting a seed and NPC out for people to interact with and arbiting the execution when the players brought them forth. I know from last event, I personallly NPC'd and was only approached by 1 player to roleplay with. The point I make here is that Players do not need to be spoon fed content that is relevant to their character, we can make ourselves relevant to the story and world that is around us. IIT is hard to tell a story to the wind (players who are not in play or only interested in combat.). We as players have the power to help by being involved while in play. Rant over back to topic now.
So my suggestions for incorporating some of the ideas above would be to relegate this to open play. It is something that we have done in the past and would only need to be somethhing that is focused upon more next season. I think that completely nixing the team will create a chaotic environment in game of people writing for their guilds/specific groups and further alienating players by making it appear to be a cllique' based game. It also does not take away from an over arching story line in which I think has been one of the strong suits to why the game has been successful. Consistency and the story have always been something that was highlighted in the past and I do not think that we should move away from that.
This also helps with the point of plot burn out which is something I think can completely happen. By alllowing players to write mini mods/ open play content it takes some of that pressure off of the team. Staff could be free to prep for a finale, get some time to rest and relax at the event, or even play their characters.
In the end I think that the reorganizing is an attempt to bring the game together and take away some of the "us vs them" mentality of the relationship between players and plot. I think that with a few tweaks to the current system this can be achieved while also not risking the things that have sustained this game for so long, which is its consistency, story, and a combat system that is intuitive and accesible to the masses.
In essence, you're right when you say this resembles the current system with different names. Just the same, the minor differences are very important.
The key point with the Producer position, whatever we choose to call it, is to make it sustainable. As it stands, Head of Plot is a position that requires an unreasonable degree of effort and catches a disproportionate amount of the flack. By clearly defining its responsibilities and taking the onus of story direction and team leadership away, it becomes something much more reasonable. Whether this makes the position so undesirable nobody wants it is moot; we have plenty of other staff positions that are boring but rewarding enough to get filled.
I'll give you the point about consistency; with a wider group of less experienced people creating content, events will tend to be all over the place. This is the same "overarching story line" debate we've had for years. For my part, I've never much cared that everything fits together. I'd rather live the life of an adventurer and experience half a dozen smaller stories than force them all to be connected somehow. Here is where I'll have to plead difference of opinion with the direction of the game. Besides, what it will lack in vertical consistency it can make up with in horizontal consistency, allowing larger story lines to be explored in an episodic way over several events rather than as subjects of an entire event.
On that note, I think there's a tendency to overestimate the overarching story. While players who've been around the longest and rarely miss a game will be able to keep up, those who miss games or start attending halfway through the year are all too often lost. For most people, then, lack of consistency is already a reality, like starting a book in the middle or skipping chapters. Abandoning the novel approach in favor of short stories would make things more approachable for everyone.
The level of commitment required for plotting has been a sticking point for years. There are folks who want to run things on occasion, but aren't willing to do a year on plot. Likewise, they may not want to be part of the current team, or may not be able to make every event, or may fall short in other ways that have nothing to do with their creativity or showmanship. The "all or nothing" approach robs us of what could be some very good talent and prevents us from using it to ease the burden of a dedicated team.
As far as meetings, they wouldn't exist in this system. Individual storytellers would keep their own counsel or talk amongst themselves as they care to. The only touchpoint would be with the producer in order to get their stamp of approval.
Yes, this reorganization is meant to bridge the gap between plot and players, because there's not supposed to be a difference. Plot members are just another kind of player. We've said this since first season, perhaps not as vocally or frequently as we should have. The problems plaguing the current system stem from the fact that it doesn't reflect that point.
I like idea some of the ideas presented here, but I also have some questions and concerns. The description of the Producer doesn't seem that far off from what the current Head of Plot position is, excluding the creative side of it, but that's not a bad thing. The position of HoP, as far as I know, has never been clearly defined on paper. There are duties that the HoP assumes but I think most of it comes through personal interpretation of the position with a bit of tradition from the position itself.
I like some of the ideas that using storytellers presents, but I do not like the idea of not having a centralized plot team. I could be wrong but I feel like having just a bunch of storytellers is a bit like having a herd of animals with no shepherds. Maybe that's just me because I'm used to our current system. I like the idea of being able to tell episodic stories through multiple events because that is something I have wanted to do and it does open up some great storytelling opprotunities.
I think some of the issues we have seen this season have come from the overarching story itself. Maybe instead of reorganizing the entire team and the way events are run we need to remove the large storylines and just let the plot members run content as suggested above. I hope these ideas will be up for more discussion.
First of all, if the Den Keeper role is made, I want to go ahead and put my name in for it. I would rather this not be a rotating position as signing up for a monster shift. I know some people standard of organized is a lot different then others. This would make cleaning the den on sunday mornings harder, if people only put stuff to make it neat and not to where it goes.
While I like the idea of the licensed storytellers, I'd worry that there won't be enough stories written for an event or a finale that connects the event stories for some goal at the end. Would the storytellers have access to older mods that people on previous plot teams have written? This could make for interesting storylines to continue if they are not around to continue the story.
Kyle I believe that there would be no "Finale" as we are used to seeing with this format, as it seems that this style does not lend itself to having "large" events centered around Jastrey and its citizens. I may be wrong, but I would think the Saturday would be split into a normal mod slot, having 2 or 3 mods running like other mod times. In Essence I think this form lends itself well to writing more episodic type adventures over a few months. To think of each event as a "game session" for a tabletop group is how I believe is the intent.
As to giving mods and storylines out, I think that this isnt necessary, as the people who began them could continue the stories themselves in the new system. hmmmm. where was that horn of deepingwood mod I had written up lol.
Another question I would have would be whether or not plot notes would be going by the wayside within the new system, as there would be no reason to have them other than to keep record of what your character has done.
Honest feedback time.
There are actually some things I really like and really dislike about this.
The idea of re-formatting plot actually sounds like a good idea. I really like the idea of there not being a big divide between players and plot because of the weird perceived difference in power. I am all for taking stress off of them and I would really love to never hear the word favoritism again- and i’m not even on plot. That being said, the people who do step up to help create the stories for this game do deserve a certain respect for doing so- it’s been said, they don’t get paid to do this.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this “over-seer” concept, but there does need to be some sort of authority of what content is worth putting into a game that we all love and pay to play. Taking the creative responsibility out of the position might help relieve stress, but would they still be allowed to contribute to content? Having someone to approve or deny content, make up a schedule, and be dedicated to the organization without worrying about the creative content might be a good idea- it almost reminds me of an administrative position. This position does run into a few issues- they’ll still catch some flack for approving content that isn’t well received and depending on the person, they may take out personal grudges on prospective “storytellers.”
I love the idea of den keeper. I’ve been running my mouth about wanting to do something like that for over a year. This would of course need to be approved or “licensed” to prevent complications of people taking advantage of treasure, monster stats, or inexperience- not paying attention to the levels of people in open play before sending randoms out, for example.
As far as the story teller idea goes, I support encouraging players to write and contribute without having to apply or be part of the team. Allowing players to write mods, run them, but without the monthly expectation to do so could be a great idea. Let them test the water, do as much as their personal life allows, and not be overwhelmed.
Now, the story teller idea is not without fault. With no dedicated team working together, you run the risk of not having enough content to entertain your players for a weekend, or worse- them paying for mediocre content that was poorly run. Even if the writing is good enough to be approved, there’s a chance of a whole event consisting of inexperienced story tellers who end up being not so great at running mod with or without assistance, so the whole weekend ends up kind of lack-luster. This also seems to leave some gaps- what would open play be? Where would the personal attention come from? How would there be an end-of-event finale without a team effort? That last point concerns me greatly- an event with no finale or big field battle at the end sounds like a flop to me. My favorite part of the game is the anticipation is that something big is going down Saturday night, whether it has to do with the event story line or something crazy just happens.
My proposal would be a combination. Keep a dedicated team (change the name to get rid of the plot stigma if need be) that does commit to writing for the season. There doesn’t have to be an over-arch for the season either, just writing event to event. After this season, i’d be totally content with “we’re in Jastrey and things happen month to month.” If they decide to collaborate on a theme for the event, or maybe another big season story arch in a year or two, they’ll be there to do so. When these people are not running a mod or assisting a new story teller, they are just players. This could also allow the team members more time as their character. Then, the month before each event, any prospective story tellers can submit their content to the over-seer or whoever, and run content with assistance. Maybe even keep one block set for this. (Friday night could be dedicated team mods, Saturday morning could be new story tellers, or the team again if no one else contributes, open play because it’s fun now, and then something occurring for a finale) They don’t have to join or commit to anything beyond writing for that month. This can also save the dedicated team from scrambling to keep up their numbers up, creating enough content, or panicking when someone needs a personal break.
Having the dedicated team also does some good in the actual mechanics department- having people who are granted access to plot notes, player stats, monsters, use the conspiracy account, etc on the website. That way access isn’t given and taken all the time. They'd also be able to readily communicate to make sure everyone is on the same page on time slots and the schedule.
I think a change could be for the good, the kinks just need to be worked out, and people need to remember that they are still friends outside of this game.
There are things I see working well, and things I don't see working well in all honesty with this. I'll start fromt he top and try to keep it short.
Producer- I think the idea behind this is nice. My only concern has already been voiced and that is if this person will be able to have content included as well, or if this becomes a strictly logistical position. It's similar to something I did as a team member a few seasons ago, so I know it works at it's core, but losing creative input does sting it a bit in my opinion. Not in the sense of affecting the story, but in the sense of if this were me this year and I had an idea for a mod (say killing a particular Fae), could the person in this position run their own mod?
Storytellers- I'm in a dead mix of feeling on this one. I think not having a central team that can assist or provide filler content in case of no shows, or provide some general assistance for new people running content is going to be hard pressed. However, I don't mind the idea of players creating content as we've tried to include a little more of that at a time this season via open play mod card submissions and the tournament like Kyle did. I do think that having fresh stories and options are needed. I just think there still needs to be some form of assistance in place to keep it smoothe. I think, for olders players, we have an attachment to the idea of central storylines because it's what we've always done, or tried to do and be involved in. Letting go of that is hard, but not impossible. I do agree that it poses the question of what would happen to finales and how would those best be written if that's the direction taken. I agree with the previously mentioned ideas of having a mix of a central form of a team that assists keeping things moving and having those people in place as backups for guidance in that respect if this is the direction you guys decide to go, but I think having additional content is something that should be considered. My suggestion here would be that there be a minium number of games attended before being able to submit content to ensure the storyteller knows the game, first. My question would be what the guidelines for actual content would be, and I know it's too probably too early to say, there. All that being said, it's hard to let go of the idea of a plot team as a whole because it's what we (speaking as a plot member) know, and that may make my suggestions seem biased.
Denkeeper- I'm actually probably this one's number one supporter. I've always been of a very firm opinion that this should be something constant for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. Without a solid den, we're all going to have a rough event, be it players, plot, story people, owners, everyone. Having an extra or two on hand to sub out in a slot where the main Keeper wants to play is also something I support.
My questions on the topic as a whole would be these:
1. Is there any form of reward for content writers each event? Be it boon, a discount on game admission, or it counting as a monster slot. I think that's going to eventually be asked, so I'll go ahead and ask it.
2. What would be the schedule layout? Would we be keeping the block system we have, or would that be up for a change as well? (I know this one probably jumps too far ahead)
3. What happens if the Producer has to miss an event and there's not a backup team? My suggestion here would be that it fall to the Denkeeper, since they will already be on top of pulling mod materials to keep that end of things moving.
4. What happens to personal story from plot notes and forum interaction?
Now. All of that said, some of this may seem biased because I've done plot so long. I understand after being HoP for a season that the stress and burnout are what is trying to be avoided here, and the conflicts that lie within. There are definitely struggles and the complaints that come with that. I think that the divide Thad is discussing between the plot team and players is something that has definitely become apparent, because it's been in the feedback. There's no easy way to fix a favoritism complaint or a complaint if someone didn't get particular attention, and I think that will always be a small portion of something that occurs, no matter how this is logistically set up. I don't have any easy suggestion on avoiding it all together.
I think it would be interesting to allow some storyteller elements in the game.
What I mean by that is simply adding the storyteller feature to what we have already.
Head of Plot, doing what they do now.
Then you could divide the plot team in two, those that are making mods and those that are helping players (the 'storytellers') submit mods. Then every event or few events have them switch. The people making mods become storyteller helpers, and the helpers then become the mod makers themselves.
For consistancy issues, you could help by setting a theme for a season, such as the theme this season is traveling around and gaining allies kind of thing for the finalie. Then everyone who is making mods would have to roughly fight their ideas into those concepts.
Just some thoughts.
I may just be rewording what Sam said, but the two tier idea to the 'storyteller' plot person revision sounds like a good idea in maintaining the central team to keep that consistency yet also eliminating some stress and issues that can and do arise from that set up, but without completely changing it.
There could be what plot has now, a person devoted to creating a mod and running it, as the storyteller, but maybe another person, like an assistant storyteller, that the storyteller can bounce ideas off of if need be, or rely on to help guide monsters while the storyteller is, well, telling the story to the players, or perhaps something comes up and the storyteller couldn't make it to the event. An assistant storyteller would be able to run the mod for that person. They could be a player that happens to be monstering for that mod or planned out ahead to monster for that mod or even just be a free floating player that doesn't have a problem with being pulled out of character to help out with plot stuff but isn't exactly on plot. Simply a few random thoughts ^-^
Okay, so. Honest Feedback. I don't like it. I know what you're thinking. "Oh Jop, you just hate change." To which I say, of course I don't. Change is scary. Change changes things.
Not only do I feel personally hurt, because, everyone else keep this in mind, the current plot team was completely blindsided by this decision, but I also feel what you're about to try is going to change the state of the entire game, and not necessarily for the better.
First, It has always been policy that players have been free to submit mods to HoP to be ran in a slot. The problem is most people who volunteer, don't actually make content. So, What happens when these story tellers don't produce? Thad you yourself have trouble coming up with new and interesting equiptment for the treasure bag, even though there's an open submission form for suggestions. What happens? People don't submit ideas. So what happens when these story tellers don't? Does the producer pick up the slack? How long before he or she runs out of energy entirely from filling so many positions? Not to mention running such content at the game.
That being said where's the oversight? Where's the trust even? I mean with a Plot Team you have people who you can trust to be at the game, running the content. Even if a story is picked, what happens when the story teller doesn't show up for whatever reason? Once again this Producer is forced to pick up the slack, wearing them thin.
Speaking of trust. What's to prevent a Story teller from writing a mod for their buddy, guild, whatever and then whispering to them to make sure they're on it? Is this producer supposed to oversee this, make sure it doesn't happen? Can't be done. HoP has enough trouble with oversight as is with mods going on at once.
As far as the producer job goes, where's the overarching story? How is this producer or director supposed to combine all these disjointed mods into one story? How is he or she supposed to make them fit into a game and tie in at the finale? Where are the meetings to discuss what's being done when? What of Open Play? Is the Producer expected to pick up all the slack, write a finale, and create solid content for Open Play? Or is Open Play vonlunteer based as well? Because we tried that, and content just didn't get produced.
And what about monsters? Monsters and Players hardly give plot members, game staff, people put into this position for a reason, respect as is. Are we assuming that monsters are suddenly going to listen to an untrained player giving them direction? Do we expect these problems to disappear? No. If anything they will increase tenfold.
TL;DR:
>I am personally hurt by this new concept.
>Not enough volunteers.
>volunteers not showing up.
>favoritism increase
>overarching story / continuity.
>monster/player disrespect of "plot calls"
Verbose rants are kinda my thing but i'll keep it short.
A players-plotting-for-players system will spell an end to things like the horn of deepingwood and cool experiences within these mods that affect a characters personal growth. Rather than making a player feel like this is their personal story and the mods he chooses are the adventures his character chooses; the mods would trend more to the feeling like it's a minigame to kill time before the next treasure draw. What need does a player have for treasure when he feels uninvolved in the evolving story of the game?
What will be said of a players achievements within those adventures? or his failures? What good is saving the princess when you know in the back of your mind that she was solely just a mechanism for hooking you into the mod to begin with.
A licensed storyteller isn't beholden to the game to increase a players sense of adventure and immersion beyond a single 90 minute adventure, a plotmember is. In addition: plotmembers prove the time-tested phrase that two heads are better than one, So many of Orns best stories come from humble origins when an unexpected person mumbles a half-assed idea in a plot meeting.
Bonus observation: When I was on plot, The flaws mentioned most often mentioned in Scott's personal method of plot leadership were still fresh in everyones minds and those very same flaws seem to me as the expected duties of a future producer.
Not sure how it'd work it out but I think itd be worth a shot. I have faith in the game owners decision and I know that no matter what happens it'll work out in the end. Happy faces and do what you feel is right. I'm sure that everyone will have your back in what happens. Also I really appreciate the fact that you gave everyone a heads up and asked for input, I know a lot of people that would've never done that.
I'm going to stick this in here just so I don't forget again. I think that if this idea takes off, an Owner should take the Producer position until this is off the ground and it's running and working properly. You three (Jenn, Nick, and Thad) know where your direction is with this, and your direction would be needed to ensure this runs how you see it. Now I'm done ;)
Thank you for putting this decision in front of the community. I really appreciate that you are willing to hear feedback before implementing this idea. Some of what I say below might seem critical, know that I'm not trying to be critical, just expressing my thoughts/opinions in a stream of consciousness.
IMO, consistency of the long term story seems like it would be hurt by this approach. I agree with the points made by Alex about the story basically being broken into 90 minute scenarios. I get that collaboration can happen but without a dedicated team and a set of long term story arcs you are relying on that to grow organically. I personally wouldn't risk this kind of decentralization and I don't share your optimism that it will be stronger this way.
IMO, spontaneous growth of a story is also hampered by not having a dedicated team. In my experience both as a player and as someone who has served on plot teams and HOP (in games where we didn't play but only plotted for whole seasons) some of the best stories happen when someone does something spontaneous in the game and a plot member noticing and running with the story embellishing it and blowing it up beyond its origin. It personalizes things in ways you just can't get without a dedicated team with the authority to act outside of the "approved" content. Often it can be little things.
Along the same lines, how much leeway does a storyteller get to adjust their content for unforseen events when the best laid plans go astray. Players always come up with ingenious ideas that need to be adjudicated or require on the fly adjustments to make the story work. Is the storyteller able to adjust? Do they have to worry about the fact the Producer didn't authorize the content? In a HOP/Plot team, the plot member adjusts, reports back to the HOP after the fact and they work it out and learn and become a better cohesive team (or in a disfunctional team, people deal with lots of drama).
How will you consistently approach long term nemesis type characters typically played by a plot member over the course of one or more seasons?
I personally don't like the idea that my plot notes/backstory would be available to a wider group of players. I'm a big fan of FOIP. A large part of the playing of my character is progressive disclosure of my background to the other players I want to share it with. I already feel like there is too much data about my character available on the website. I trust that putting things in plot notes is going to a narrow audience responsible for the running of the story. I trust the plot team is going to put it to good use when it is appropriate to do so either in developing my personal story or using it to generate content that affects a broad group or triggering something that I then roleplay that gives others things to play off of. Having a team that is consistently applying that information is really important to my enjoyment of the personal part of my game.
I understand that you are interested in removing the divide in the social network of the community that exists between the player base and the plot team and removing the elevated status of being a plot member/HOP. I've been on both sides of that fence and have never seen a LARP that doesn't have it. Same is true for player factions, good guys and bad guys, high levels and lowbies, guilds, and OOP relationships, etc. In the end, if we can all go out to lunch together or hang out together after cleanup on Sunday and Friday evening before opening ceremonies, seems like we are doing it right.
I hope that whatever you decide to do that your social engineering is good for the community. Thank you for listening to my opinions and taking them into consideration in your decision making. In the end, it is your decision to make and I'll abide by it.
Thanks,
Eric
Hey guys. I won't rant, I just have one positive and one negative comment to share. I really like this concept because it allows more people to pool their creative power. This could lead to more varied content, and I agree with Thad in that everything that happens doesn't have to be connected to an overarching story. Main goals in a bigger story is absolutely necessary, but I love isolated quests, clearing out a dungeon for some gold, saving the mayor's daughter (or not), etc. This is totally a personal preference thing.
The other thing I wanted to comment on (as a few others have already) is authority. I haven't been LARPing too long yet, but I've played a LOT of Dungeons and Dragons, and the storytelling aspects seem to translate well. In D&D, the DM has absolute authority. Sure, this makes it easy for a position like that to gain a certain prestige, but it is necessary to maintain integrity of the story. When you share this authority between too many people, conflict can arise that can hinder the story while people argue about what the best thing to do is.
Ultimately I think it's worth a try and keeping an open mind about it. If people end up hating it and fighting, well, then we can always go back.
As a side note, we're not married to the names for these positions. Producer could just as easily be director, for instance. We're open to suggestions.