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Far be it from me to consider myself an expert on the subject of live action roleplaying, or indeed roleplaying of any sort.
However, I am allowed to present opinions. These things are not stated as fact, but are stated as thoughts, ruminations, and, again, opinions.
1) Live Action must have multiple personalities in order to be succesful. The Narrators in an excellent game don't back up the Storyteller, the balance him/her. There should be strife... there should be dissention. It is the combination of different personalities and styles that create a good game, in my opinion. Otherwise, you're just traipsing around in someone else's fantasy world. Other styles, other thoughts make a live action game textured and multi-dimensional, much like a good haircut.
2) Each game within a troupe should be a separate entity. That means both in terms of plot and in terms of power structure. Puzzle that one out yourselves, I feel it has merit.
3) Narrators should NOT have player characters. Narrators should play a variety of NPCs, but should not settle into one character. Attachment to a long-term NPC limits the Narrator by decreasing his/her ability and/or willingness to be flexible, and gives them a personal stake in the game itself.
4) Complacency is anathema. A good live action game does not encourage players to sit around and play "follow the Alpha"... a good game encourages people to find ways for their characters to interact with not just the other PCs, but with the world around them. Good games, with an engaging scenery and an engrossing fistfull of plotlines, motivate characters to operate fully within a dynamic setting, rather than letting them slip into D&D hack'n'slash mode.
5) I don't like epic storylines, and the word "epic" is used here in relative terms. Obviously any game including lycanthropic anti-heroes on a hopeless quest to save the world is going to wind up being epic, but no good game involves the ST grabbing players by the nose and leading them around. Players should not be allowed to depend on an invisible hand for character motivation... they should be tempted, tantalized, and seduced by the game, but never, ever led by it. Multiple small storylines that lead into something bigger, like a braided rope, is much stronger than one big storyline that leads off on random, meaningless tangents, like a fraying rope.
6) Character backgrounds are important. The players must write them, and the ST must read them. I would even say that the ST ought to request copies to keep, even if it's just a photocopy of a handwritten page. Even if it's just notes on a Denny's napkin. Knowledge of a character's background allows the ST to involve each character to become involved on an intimate (not epic) level with the main story path. That results in each character being important, fewer people feeling left out or overlooked (by the "Old Guard", for instance), and more reason for the player to become fully involved with the character, reducing the number of one-night-stands, and increasin the number of characters that will be discussed for years after their demise.
7) The truly good live action game is a fluid construction of players, STs and Narrators. It is not the ST and Narrators calling all the shots while the players cower in fear. Some organization is needed, but keep in mind... it's about having fun, not about iron fists. It's about a story, not about combat rules.
I think... that's all for now. Ah, a cleverly disguised bitch session... they'll never find me here. Since it's my bedtime and all.
However, I am allowed to present opinions. These things are not stated as fact, but are stated as thoughts, ruminations, and, again, opinions.
1) Live Action must have multiple personalities in order to be succesful. The Narrators in an excellent game don't back up the Storyteller, the balance him/her. There should be strife... there should be dissention. It is the combination of different personalities and styles that create a good game, in my opinion. Otherwise, you're just traipsing around in someone else's fantasy world. Other styles, other thoughts make a live action game textured and multi-dimensional, much like a good haircut.
2) Each game within a troupe should be a separate entity. That means both in terms of plot and in terms of power structure. Puzzle that one out yourselves, I feel it has merit.
3) Narrators should NOT have player characters. Narrators should play a variety of NPCs, but should not settle into one character. Attachment to a long-term NPC limits the Narrator by decreasing his/her ability and/or willingness to be flexible, and gives them a personal stake in the game itself.
4) Complacency is anathema. A good live action game does not encourage players to sit around and play "follow the Alpha"... a good game encourages people to find ways for their characters to interact with not just the other PCs, but with the world around them. Good games, with an engaging scenery and an engrossing fistfull of plotlines, motivate characters to operate fully within a dynamic setting, rather than letting them slip into D&D hack'n'slash mode.
5) I don't like epic storylines, and the word "epic" is used here in relative terms. Obviously any game including lycanthropic anti-heroes on a hopeless quest to save the world is going to wind up being epic, but no good game involves the ST grabbing players by the nose and leading them around. Players should not be allowed to depend on an invisible hand for character motivation... they should be tempted, tantalized, and seduced by the game, but never, ever led by it. Multiple small storylines that lead into something bigger, like a braided rope, is much stronger than one big storyline that leads off on random, meaningless tangents, like a fraying rope.
6) Character backgrounds are important. The players must write them, and the ST must read them. I would even say that the ST ought to request copies to keep, even if it's just a photocopy of a handwritten page. Even if it's just notes on a Denny's napkin. Knowledge of a character's background allows the ST to involve each character to become involved on an intimate (not epic) level with the main story path. That results in each character being important, fewer people feeling left out or overlooked (by the "Old Guard", for instance), and more reason for the player to become fully involved with the character, reducing the number of one-night-stands, and increasin the number of characters that will be discussed for years after their demise.
7) The truly good live action game is a fluid construction of players, STs and Narrators. It is not the ST and Narrators calling all the shots while the players cower in fear. Some organization is needed, but keep in mind... it's about having fun, not about iron fists. It's about a story, not about combat rules.
I think... that's all for now. Ah, a cleverly disguised bitch session... they'll never find me here. Since it's my bedtime and all.
