Only recently have I started passing notes in my games. From a humble start, notes have transformed the way I share information with the players, empowering them to role-play their characters as they see fit.
Note passing was something that I started as an experiment in my games. At first, the notes only contained information about treasure such as armor, weapons, or gold.
Most players would share that information with everybody at the table. The party would then divide the items between the characters and we would continue the session.
Since nothing extra was done with the information on those notes, the whole affair seemed like a giant waste of time. I did not see any apparent benefit from all the effort I was putting into them. As a consequence, my interest was slowly fading away.
During one session, a player received 100 pieces of gold from one of his kills. When asked about the loot by the other characters, he told them that he would share with them all the 20 pieces. For he was a giving person and would die for each and everyone in the group. His party was very important to him.
Nobody bat an eye at the situation and they were reassured of his camaraderie. The loot was divided as usual and we continued with the session.
That event sparkled my imagination. The player took control of the information and used it to the best effect for his character. That action was only possible because the true contents of the loot where only known to him and nobody else in his party.
My use of notes was invigorated after that incident. Soon after, I started passing notes for everything and anything that was pertinent to the individual characters.
The players were thus empowered in every area of the game. Options that were once ignored, were now immensely important. The opportunities for role-playing were enhanced and the game became much more involved than before.
Notes became a value addition to my games. Opening, to the individual players, opportunities for role-play not available before them.
0 comments:
Post a Comment