RE: [BNW] New game for me

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

> > Really?  To me it strikes me as the way to handle
> > it.  To start it off as a
> > few, small, minor aberrations as whatever evil
> > forces (or whatever) get a
> > toehold.  "Yeah, we'll give a few folks some
> > supernatural powers, create a
> > few vampires - our nemesis on the side of good will
> > start giving specific
> > powers to his unwitting soldiers."  Then *bang* the
> > ultimate battle between
> > good vs. evil.
>
>Ok, so the basic book is priming us for an ultimate
>battle against good vs. evil.  Great, what's the evil?
>  Is it supernatural in origin? Extra dimensional?
>Alien? It becomes frustrating designing adventures
>without guidelines, and this is a fundemental
>guideline.  Sure, the players don't need to know, but
>the Refs definitely do.
>

To put it simply...at this time, why?

If Matt wants it, at this time, to be a relatively insignificant thing that 
grows as the story progresses, and he gives you the information to run such 
things as a merely insignifocant thing (the mere presence of vampires and 
Bargainers) that will grow as he gives everyone more information, why do you 
need to know now exactly what the whole master plan thing is?  Just run 
vampires as they are presented, and see what happens.

I will agree that adventure guidelines would have been helpful, no doubt 
about that!  But _if_ my suggested idea is the case (and it was merely one 
of an infinite number of hypothetical examples), why do you need to know, 
say, what vampires have planned as the next step in their plan for world 
domination (or what someone has planned for them), before they reach that 
step or take any efforts along those lines?

*shrug* Again, this is a pretty standard element for meta-plot campaign 
settings.  You're given enough info to handle right now, campaign/time-wise, 
what the villains are up to now.  What they may be up to 6 months down the 
road is something that will (hopefully) be revealed) six months down the 
road, but is not necessary now.  This has been the same for Torg, or 
Deadlands/HOE (still ongoing) or whatever).

It's a fine line to walk, I'll agree.  And as far as _general_ adventure 
guidelines, yes, we could have used more.  But as far as any ultimate good 
vs. evil (or whatever mega-plot development), it seems to me that the 
elements are all there.  At the very least, how can we see that they aren't 
until such time as the "mystery" (whatever) it may be) is presented in its 
entirety?

And again...if folks don't like meta-plotting in general, that's fine.  I 
just don't think the general lack of adventure guidelines or "hooks" in 
general relates to any flaws in Matt's meta-plot.  Much less at this time I 
don't think anyone can reasonably determine if there _are_ flots in the 
meta-plot.

Steve

>-Munch Wolf


---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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