ASIF Players for Transparency

[Eisen]

It has come to my attention that our favorite Dev Carriker is running a house game, and yet no Campagin log of can be found on the forums! This injustice must be set right. We should know what's going on behind thoes guilded green doors! Being able to see how a game is run by the pros might be helpful for some of us noob narrators.

It's possible that you might not have the time to write up every mind numbing detail of your game. If so..make your players do it! Offer then a bribe of a couple XP for a good report. Or better yet dock them XP for refusing your demands!

[DaimosofRedstone]

IF at all possible i would also like to see such a write-up.
But do not mistreat your players for it.

[Carriker]

Ha! Alright, alright. I shall put up an Actual Play report here on the forums.

If you're interested in browsing through the material I put up for my players, though, feel free to check out our Chronicle Page for "To Find A Way, or Make One" at http://oakthorne.net/wiki/index.php?title=To_Find_A_Way.

There is a timeline there, that gives a rough bullet point layout of the game, scene by scene. There is also some information there that absolutely should not be taken as canonical; where canon and the needs of my game conflict, my game wins. For the most part, though, I've just added details where details were lacking (particularly in my description of some Houses and towns in the North).

[Eisen]

Gack, your very own Campagin Wiki?! This puts Campagin logs to shame! It looks like a lot of the key info is in there already. No need to break your back putting up minutia here when we can check it all out on the wiki. Very nice mate!

[Carriker]

Heh. Yeah. I've used a game wiki for a number of years now - they're definitely my favorite go-to resource in terms of presenting player information.

I'm a writer by trade as well as inclination, and as a GM in the past, that's meant player handouts of sometimes obscene length. This way, the information is all there for folks to read through just about from anywhere (in this day of smart phones and laptops), without the necessity of THIS MUST BE READ NOW.

An added benefit is that I'm not the only one writing for it - in my other bigger games, I hand out bonus XP to players who decide to take a "job" - keeping track of NPCs and notes about them, places they go in the campaign, keeping a chronicle timeline/journal, tracking magic items in the game, acting as the chronicle DJ, etc. The ability to give folks an account on the wiki so they can do some editing themselves makes that sort of collaborative record-keeping and creative efforts really insanely easy.

[nicholscs]

What a great resource for a game. Well done!

[nicholscs]

Since getting the books and resources for the game, I've been working on a house and have gotten some good guidance from your work.

Can you tell me what you used to create the maps?

[Carriker]

Can you tell me what you used to create the maps?

I use Photoshop, actually. More than the program, though, is the advice and tutorials over at the Cartographer's Guild that has guided me through creating those maps. The info there is amazing.

http://www.cartographersguild.com

[nicholscs]

PS is a bit out of my price range. I have downloaded GIMP and been trying to figure that out.

Thanks for the link. I've browsed through CG a little and need to go back. The resources there are amazing. I just haven't had the time to really experiment.

In general, I've been finding aspects of trying to get a game going a bit daunting. But then, I have no GMing experience and minimal playing experience

[Carriker]

Lots of folks on CG use GIMP, and many of them offer their brushes and other resources for it, so that's not a bad choice.

As far as getting the most usability out of CG, do a search for Tutorials. You'll find some amazing ones, I promise you.

[Lord Ben]

CG is a good map program but it's just hard to learn if you're not "artsy" and only make one map every 6 months or so.. heh.

[Lord Ben]

Ha! Alright, alright. I shall put up an Actual Play report here on the forums.

If you're interested in browsing through the material I put up for my players, though, feel free to check out our Chronicle Page for "To Find A Way, or Make One" at http://oakthorne.net/wiki/index.php?title=To_Find_A_Way.

I see you have: "For each scene that you submit to the Narrator that is brought into play, you gain one Destiny Point. This can go above your normal allotment of Destiny Points, but these can only be spent, not burnt. Submit such scenes to the Narrator by email, please." written in there somewhere. How do you mean that, like the player suggests a certain scene that might work in the game and they get a point to spend to influence the scene? Seems like a nice little rule.

[Carriker]

I see you have: "For each scene that you submit to the Narrator that is brought into play, you gain one Destiny Point. This can go above your normal allotment of Destiny Points, but these can only be spent, not burnt. Submit such scenes to the Narrator by email, please." written in there somewhere. How do you mean that, like the player suggests a certain scene that might work in the game and they get a point to spend to influence the scene? Seems like a nice little rule.

Yup. A player emails me and says "Hey, I'd kinda like to see a scene between me and the Lord of the House, out hunting." Easy enough to arrange for the next game session, generally speaking. Plus, it tells me that player has some ideas about interacting with the Lord, and is investing in the game enough to want to help control a little of its direction.

[Pytorb]

CG is a good map program but it's just hard to learn if you're not "artsy" and only make one map every 6 months or so.. heh.

I'm a fan of the Campaign Cartographer series of programs myself. I'm sure I only use about 10% of the capabilities of the program and I still get towns, coutrysides or interior locations that do the job.

I see you have: "For each scene that you submit to the Narrator that is brought into play, you gain one Destiny Point. This can go above your normal allotment of Destiny Points, but these can only be spent, not burnt. Submit such scenes to the Narrator by email, please." written in there somewhere. How do you mean that, like the player suggests a certain scene that might work in the game and they get a point to spend to influence the scene? Seems like a nice little rule.

That is a great idea!

[Carriker]

CG is a good map program but it's just hard to learn if you're not "artsy" and only make one map every 6 months or so.. heh.

CG is the Cartographer's Guild, just to be clear. Their website is http://www.cartographersguild.com . They're map enthusiasts of all stripes who use all sorts of programs to make maps.

[Lord Ben]

Ah, oops. I thought it was an abbreviation for one of campaign cartographers line of products.

[Owlhunter]

Awesome writeup! When can we expect Story 5 and 6?

[Carriker]

Awesome writeup! When can we expect Story 5 and 6?

Yeah, I've been a total slacker getting those written up. I shall work on that today, I think. Story Five, at least, which is the end of the first Book. We're playing through Story Six right now.