Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 23:25:14 GMT
Introduction
This guide is meant to help people who want to GM/Storytell build a compelling RP session and involve the players in it. I decided to lend my Experience in GMing, Roleplaying, Writing and Storytelling towards this purpose. i'll save the FAQ for the end.
The Storyteller's goals:
- Immersion : To make an interesting story or setting and let the player characters(PCs) interact with it
- Social: To engage the PCs and involve as many of them in what is going on.
- Exploration : To Develop and explore worlds and ideas together with the players.
Understanding Science Fiction: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction
Star Trek belongs to the Science Fiction Genre which is a type of speculative fiction or as Wikipedia puts it : Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures.[2] It is similar to, but differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation).
According to science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, "a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."
This is important because it means that everything in Star Trek stories have(or strive to have) a plausible reason for these things existing or happening which contributes the immersible quality of the story.
Coming up with the initial Idea:
Every story starts with an idea at its core that gets adapted into a storyline, this is true for every star trek episode. This core idea can come from anywhere from an interesting situation you've been in in real life to a re-frame of current common social views.
We need several steps to make the idea useable:
•Thinking about a concept:
The question 'What if' often helps find this idea:
Examples: 'what if a world was ruled by a telepathic majority', 'what if an android was outdated next to a newly discovered android' etc..
Next the concept is then taken to a Star Trek adaptation where you think how to recreate the idea in the Star Trek Universe setting
This is accomplished by:
- Background construction: Finding the reason for it coming into existence in the first place and why was it allowed to continue existing.
- Interaction : consider how it would work in the context of the setting and how the other ideas in the settings interact with whatever it is. How might it affect the crew.
Example: Part of the inhabitants of a planet evolved telepathic ability while others didn't , the telepathic Elite have an advantage they hold over the non-telepathic people, they feel entitled and after years of coexistence next to the federation new developments with the Klingon war that infringed on their space, they decided to control the the irresponsible starfleet for their own good..
•Understanding the theme: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_%28narrative%29 . A Theme is what the story is really about, recognizing it is important because it helps develop the story in a believable way and also ensures that it sparks the thoughts and imagination of the players or viewers. if you find the idea you want to run with is really about nothing interesting it probably means that you need to rethink it or refine it. A Story can have multiple themes and the more, the richer a story tends to be.
Example: Datalore (TNG episode) en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Datalore_%28episode%29 tells us a story primarily about The Original Sin, Old vs New and Emotion(Jealousy).
In addition when analyzing it you could probably recognize a few more themes that reoccur throughout it, indirectly leading to the introduction of the Crystline Entity as an embodiment of spite and betrayal in the story.
some common Star Trek plot devices and the theme they are used for:
or Why tell/play/write the story? why is it worth telling? in the end the story needs to have a purpose of some kind in it, a reason that the PCs went through it and did what they did. This payoff can come in many forms.
In most Storytelling mediums the common unwritten rule about this is that the events of the story must cause some meaningful development in the protagonists or the settings.
We also usually look at each element of a story: Ideally each scene, character or background that are added to a story are added for a reason, to serve a purpose in the story.. don't believe me? pick up a good story and analyze it.
The same thing applies in role-play and even though the reaction that the players have for any element cannot be predicted, the element is there for a good reason.
For Example: The Crystaline entity in Datalore is presented at first as an engimatic force, it is later revealed to be what killed the colonist of Omicron theta (Data's home-world), a manifestation of Lore's spitful feelings towards those he feel have wronged him and ends up being his undoing.
So look at every element in the story or session, does it have purpose? if not maybe removing it is a good idea.
If the Story as a whole doesn't really have meaning or a purpose maybe it is better to rethink it..
following a series of pointless scenes that lead to nowhere is not as interesting.