[Dolston]

Name the top 5 aspects needed for a good MET game, in you opinion, that you can control as a Storyteller.

[Cheska]

Name the top 5 aspects needed for a good MET game, in you opinion, that you can control as a Storyteller.

1: Knowledge of the game.
2: A list of your players, contact numbers, any special info.*
3: Location and aproximate time for Game Start-End.
4: My narators, who is and isn't.
5: Character creation/approval.

* We had this girl who was Diabetic, I decided that was important enough for our ST to know, then I went further after we saw to making sure she was safe and other players and Narators knew of her. I then made a list and checked to see if anyone else had any potential problems/needs, and to see if we had anyone besides me with First Aid/CPR skills.

[ROMzombie]

1. Knowledge of the Game Mechanics
2. Knowledge of the Game Setting
3. Defined Spheres of Influence for Narrators
4. Justified Character Approvals
5. Reliable Scheduling & Venue

[PsiMalkavian]

1. Knowing Game Mechanics and World
2. Dependable and Knowledgable STs/Nar
3. Fairness
4. Location
5. Player Enjoyment/Feedback

Now this is from a players perspective. But I have played many a LARP and have helped STs in the past.

[Dolston]

Here's my list of five things an ST can do to ensure a good game.

1 - Show respect to the players. It is not an US vs THEM thing. Make sure you are friendly towards your players.

2 - Be clear and concise with your players. No lying, deceiving or beating around the bushes. They are not productive. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

3 - Develop a standard of good behavior then live it and apply it to your game.

4 - Ensure the characters submitted match your vision for the game.

5 - Be approachable. This is different than #1. When people come to you listen to them and empathize.

[PsiMalkavian]

Here's my list of five things an ST can do to ensure a good game.

1 - Show respect to the players. It is not an US vs THEM thing. Make sure you are friendly towards your players.

2 - Be clear and concise with your players. No lying, deceiving or beating around the bushes. They are not productive. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

3 - Develop a standard of good behavior then live it and apply it to your game.

4 - Ensure the characters submitted match your vision for the game.

5 - Be approachable. This is different than #1. When people come to you listen to them and empathize.

I Like it. Even gets me thinking about areas of games that I do not normaly look at.

But I find myself questioning #4, at least in part. What do you do if someone wants to play a character that does not fit into your vision? Maybe it is just me, but t seems to be a bit harder in LARP to force players to a certain mold. Of course you can just say that you must be something like this or you cannot play, but it just seems limiting. Maybe it is just the way I like to look at Roleplaying as a whole, but I think the ST should try to mold the game around the players a bit. Get you basic overall plot, and allow the players to approach the plot as they see fit. And if they do not pay attemtion to the plot, bad results happen. This way the players feel it is there game, and at least in the few games I have run, get more involved.

[Cheska]

I Like it.  Even gets me thinking about areas of games that I do not normaly look at.

But I find myself questioning #4, at least in part.  What do you do if someone wants to play a character that does not fit into your vision?  Maybe it is just me, but t seems to be a bit harder in LARP to force players to a certain mold.  Of course you can just say that you must be something like this or you cannot play, but it just seems limiting.  Maybe it is just the way I like to look at Roleplaying as a whole, but I think the ST should try to mold the game around the players a bit.  Get you basic overall plot, and allow the players to approach the plot as they see fit.  And if they do not pay attemtion to the plot, bad results happen.  This way the players feel it is there game, and at least in the few games I have run, get more involved.

I can see a major point to #4 based on personal experience. One game where the ST allowed some people to 'Just bring a character.' turnd into a really bad night for everyone.
One person created a Ghoul who was effectivly more powerful than his own sire.
One person created a Character who had far too amny blood traits for his Gen, and his Will was scarey.
And one person new everything about 'ANYONE' who came into the city just by looking at them.
The ST has to keep a reign on what people make and to make sure its playable, not over powering.. an even in some cases, under powered.
Case for this: What if you are running a game where the Sabbat are not a factor, in fact.. you plan to keep the Sabbat out, but one of your player wants to make a Sabbat spy. Do you just let him create a character that goes directly against the setup you want?

[PsiMalkavian]

I can see a major point to #4 based on personal experience. One game where the ST allowed some people to 'Just bring a character.' turnd into a really bad night for everyone.
One person created a Ghoul who was effectivly more powerful than his own sire.
One person created a Character who had far too amny blood traits for his Gen, and his Will was scarey.
And one person new everything about 'ANYONE' who came into the city just by looking at them.
The ST has to keep a reign on what people make and to make sure its playable, not over powering.. an even in some cases, under powered.
Case for this: What if you are running a game where the Sabbat are not a factor, in fact.. you plan to keep the Sabbat out, but one of your player wants to make a Sabbat spy. Do you just let him create a character that goes directly against the setup you want?

Point Made. Espically with ther Sabbat character in a game where they do not exist. Normally, just have someone ID the spy and kill it. The result of playing that character. But where they just flat out do not exist, it makes sense.

You mentioned characters that bend rules, at least in my eye. How can someone come in with unusual high blood beyond his generation? To my memory, there are limiters on Will and Blood. And how is a Ghoul more powerful than a full vampire? Is there not limits on a ghouls power?

I am not calling for a player to bring in anything, give them a basic build rule set, and make them follow those rules.

And please do not think I love a chaotic game with no rules. It is just my mind always plays Devil's Advociate with myself. It always brings up questions like this.

[Dolston]

I Like it.  Even gets me thinking about areas of games that I do not normaly look at.

But I find myself questioning #4, at least in part.  What do you do if someone wants to play a character that does not fit into your vision? 

What I do is do not approve the character as written. Now, I am not advocating a complete no policy but working with the players on something that is more appropriate for what the game is going to be about. But, if a compromise can not be made then it is the responsibility to not allow the character into the game.

Maybe it is just me, but t seems to be a bit harder in LARP to force players to a certain mold.  Of course you can just say that you must be something like this or you cannot play, but it just seems limiting.

Very much so. That, in fact, is the point. MET is good at telling specific types of stories. Good games tend to have clear defined themes, moods and goals. When these intentions are communicated to the players and they agree that they want to play within these themes and moods it becomes the Storytellers duty and responsibility to ensure the characters submitted fit within the agreed up framework. To do anything less is to do a disservice to your players.

Maybe it is just the way I like to look at Roleplaying as a whole, but I think the ST should try to mold the game around the players a bit.  Get you basic overall plot, and allow the players to approach the plot as they see fit.  And if they do not pay attemtion to the plot, bad results happen.  This way the players feel it is there game, and at least in the few games I have run, get more involved.

From nearly 10 years of experience as an MET Storyteller I would have to disagree. Your prefered approach works fantastically well in a Table Top environment. In fact, I would say this model is probably best one to use in Table Top.

But in Mind's Eye Theatre you are going to be dealing with dozens, potentially hundreds in the large convention games, all playing at the same time with limited supervision. This requires you to think and manage the game very differently as a player and as a Storyteller.

The main reason for this is when someone does something blazingly stupid and damaging to the game it is affecting dozens of people. A careless, unthinking or malicious person's actions can literally result in the ruining of dozens of people's enjoyment in addition to getting a number of uninvolved characters damaged or killed.

A good MET game focuses heavily on crisis prevention and has a number of good, strong control mechanisms in place to act to prevent any crisis from popping up. In this model and philosophy the first step is developing a clear and concise plan for what you want to do with the game. The second step is preventing chracters that break that developed and agreed upon game plan.

[PsiMalkavian]

Makes alot of sense.

Thanks for indulging my questions.

[Dolston]

Makes alot of sense.

Thanks for indulging my questions.

You're welcome. I truly love discussing game theory and group dynamics when it comes to MET.