Some tips and techniques of being a Storyteller

Some notes I’ve gathered playing In Darkness on how to be a good Storyteller

Some tips and techniques of being a Storyteller

I’ve always been annoyed and put off from running games because simply I didnt know how to feckin’ do it.

To be a Storyteller, it’s not just simply to be a rules judicator or spin a good yarn. It’s Project Managment, Planning, People Managment and balancing a highly interactive and exteremly dynamic environment. To be a good ST (lets use ST instead of Games Master or Storyteller okay?) it’s not easy and means effort from the onset.

If you’ve ever read White Wolf’s souce books, they have a huge abstract on the subject thats weighty, slightly vague, and never really said “this is how to be a good Storyteller”. I suppose how can you when it’s all relative; the players, the game, the Storyteller, the setting etc. can have a profound effect on how a game plays out and what makes a good Storyteller.

What’s provided here is merely tips, techniques, things I should have done and some abstract goals coming
from the experince of running this Chronicle.

Tips:

Try to involve players in the game/world.
- Take on their ideas if they fit.
Try to give what the players want without upsetting the game.
The world should change and react with/without the players invovlement.
- Characters they meet should be people in their own right with feelings and reactions. (though the players have a tendency to look only on the other players as characters…)
GM must seek a “Vision of the End”.
- The “vision” may change depend on the progress of the chronicle/session/players. The A to B WILL change. But it gives a focus to what the GM is trying to do and allows her to foreshadow events, hint at the future and even reflect about the past (because past events were build up to the current events…).

Planning:

Before a chronicle begins decided apon two important aspects, everything else is secondary.
- Character/Group Cohension: What makes the players work together. (Examples: Same Tradition/Cabal/Same Goals/Forced etc.)
- Location: Where and when does the chronicle take place.
These should place restrictions on the characters and also determine the first, inital story/session.
All that stuff about themes and atmosphere are derived from these two conditions. Of course, these two conditions could take inspiration from themes, atmospheres etc.
The Storyteller may have a goal. The goal should be wrought into these two conditions.

The Number of players effects the nature of the game.

2 players: The session can be quite free and completely based on character actions and interactions with the Storyteller world.
3-4 players: The game must be a Story. The story can go off on its own track following reactions to unpredicated player events.
5+ players: !Warning! The story must be tightly controlled or completely open. The plot should be very complex so that all the characters are invovled or very simple so that all the players can grope whats going on. The Storyteller must be a bit of a control freak to prevent some of the players being left out by dint of being shy or not as outgoing. In otherwords, the Storyteller has his work really cut out for him. A lot of the previous tips are pretty useless here. LARPs are special cases.

The more players, the more restrictions.

The Storyteller should inspect the characters sheets if he’s dealing with a lot of players. Too powerful or characters that have abilities or natures inconsistant with the rest of the cabel you have constant splitting of the group. Players getting bored/irrated with one another while they’ve got to wait their turn.
This is a dodgy one. If you want to have a fun game for all the players and you have a lot of players (5+) then you should restrict the power levels so that not one or two players are dominating the game.
On the other hand, having multiple power levels could be done on purpose, making a shy player be very powerful so that he becomes the focus of the group or to create conflict and drama between the characters. This is really LARP terrtory.

The Level of Character Details should reflect the style of Storyteller and/or the Plan of the Chronicle.

Lots of Stats makes for combat and dice rolling.
Few Stats makes for more social and therefore political games.
Detailed backgrounds should make for more stories based on characters historys.
Less detailed backgrounds means that characters can be put into alternative worlds without dependencies on one world.

The stories should be based on players characters. Alternativily, characters can get wrapped up in external events as well).

Running a session:

Give the players something to get them going into the session.
- Such as combat, mystery etc.
- It can be hard to do if it’s a follow on story that ended during some downtime due to players being tired. Then the players are waiting for something to happen at the beginning of the next session.
Try to end on combat, action, mystery or suspense. Keep the players wanting.
If more then one thread of action occuring, switch between players to entice suspense or tension. But don’t let players dangle too long, the players not invovled with the current thread will get bored.
Try to describe what they see, feel, hear etc. as much as possible.
- This may fall by the waste side as players get wrapped up in the action.. but then again to slow it down when the players are most desperate creates tension and excitment.
Play Seriousily and have Fun.
Suprise the Players.
- Catch them off guard or do something completely unexpected. Make them go huh?, what the hell?, wow! etc.
The Storyteller should not fall victim to the rules but the Storyteller should not be entirely pendantic either.
- The Storyteller should try and be consistant about the rules she uses.
The Storyteller can bend the rules
The players are the focus of the game. The Storyteller should not be a megalomanic neither unfortantly should she be a submissive.

The Dead One – 2000