Letters Page, Feedback!

[Hendrix]

Face front, true believers! In the Mighty Marvel Tradition, I bring you the letters page! Here's your opportunity to give feedback on how things are going!

As much as I like having my butt kissed, I am really looking more for constructive feedback. After all, this is the first game that I have tried to run since I was 11 and it's in a game system that I am not so familiar with (even if I am fairly schooled in the ways of the Marvel Universe).

I like to think that I have come up with some interesting scenarios and combat situations, but I feel like anyone looking for a real overarching plot or story might be feeling shortchanged.

Generally, my weekly prep work goes something like this:
1. Write down the plot threads that are still dangling.
2. Figure out who all will be attending, to be sure that I don't set up any plot items that are character/player dependent only to have that player not attend.
3. At some point, I get sidetracked by "Hey! That would make for a cool combat opponent for these guys!" or "Hey! That's a cool idea for a training scenario!"
4. Then I spend most of my time developing the aforementioned combat/scenario and coming up with a lead-in to the combat/scenario.
5. At some point toward the end of planning, I remember the dangling plot threads, and think "Crap! I better work some of these in there somehow!"

There are occasional exceptions where I have a plot-related idea first and then fill in the details from there, but those are more the exception than the rule.

Given the track record of this group's GMs developing impressive, grandiose stories with combats really being more of a way of getting from A to B, I worry that my approach isn't as fun/stimulating/whatever for folks.

So here is where I want to hear back from YOU, the players! Kind words are appreciated, but I want to know what everyone REALLY thinks about the way things are going. I feel like I really could make more of an effort to have the game be story-driven instead of combat-driven, but I need to know what you folks want!!

If everyone's happy with the status quo, then I won't sweat it and things will progress as they have been. HOWEVER, if you aren't 100% content with the game, this is your opportunity to chime in and help me craft a game that will be MORE FUN FOR EVERYONE!!!

Please don't be bashful or worried about hurting my feelings! Seriously! I would be much more bothered if, at some point down the road, I volunteer to run another game and everyone looks at each other sideways and I am greeted with awkward silence.

So let er rip!

[Dungeon_Master]

The DM Speaks!

I think you are doing a pretty good job of things so far. You don't have to have a BIG over arching story for the group to get into but having the individual plots for each of the characters is a good thing. One thing I have to suggest is keeping everyone involved and having a stake in the events. There is a tough balancing act of allowing everyone to have equal time in the spotlight. This can be really hard to do when you have a major plot evolving for one character. Thats when you cheat and try to do some of it outside of game time through email or using the forums if it isn't something that the character would bring in the others for. Or (my favorite) notes during the game, thought this can be a little distracting.

And just for the heck of it, I am going to put the character plots that I have seen here.

Sakura - Mega Farad and the death of her grandfather... I am still waiting for grandma to show up at the base.

Whisper - Dad's back (did he ever really leave?), the Inhumans are interested in the crystals that Whispers dad found/has as well as her brother.

Doque - His desire to help may just get him into trouble one day, he is a normal person after all. He has projects going on as well.

Cacaphony - Controlling powers is harder than it seems to be, what other trouble will she cause for the group? (Don't let her near any extra-dimensional portals)

Gemini - Is still hiding in a closet somewhere and won't come out.

Silverwolf - The dog has gone paranoid and what the heck is he working on?!?

KnightOwl - Seeing the future isn't a good thing all the time.. who knows where his visions are going to lead the heroes?

HardRock - Actually, the one character who doesn't really have any plots going on for him. Just a happy go lucky guy.

Bob, the Ultimate Super Hero - Bob was accidentally hit by a speeding asteroid and was killed instantly, so he will not be appearing.

The other thing I want to suggest is Keep the Baloney Rolling! (I stole this from Tales of the Floating Vagabond game system.) Just keep going, advance the story, kill a few characters, keep everyone guessing.... wait... the evil DM side came out for a second there. I know we are all guilty of tangenting but it falls to the Game Master to get the action back on course. Of course, there is always the thing of using a tangent or 2 to get GM stuff done.

Alright, I'm done now.

[CBLives]

I've been quite content with how you've been running the game. I know how hard it is to juggle everything. You've been doing a good job of at least keeping me in the dark (ha ha )...

When you say that you have a lot of open plot points, I see that, but I'm not sure what the rush is to close them all in one go. Unless you plan on wrapping up this game in the next month...?

That you say you don't have an over-arching "grandiose" scheme going on is surprising (to me). Seemed like you had a plan of where things were going... I also don't think that this game so far has been completely combat-centric. It's been a nice mix. Although I did miss most of the Emoticon fight, so maybe I don't have the same point of view as others on that.

I agree with DM on several points--that spotlights on different characters should be kept at the minimum (I felt like I hogged the session last time! ) but sometimes that's not always doable and I can recognize and appreciate the need to focus on some character(s) for a prolonged period (within a session) to get some things established or move things along. I was conscious of that in my game and tried not to do so much of it, but I wasn't anywhere near perfect. For myself, as a player, I'm cool with that--especially if it's balanced among all players and makes for all-around entertaining fare! But, like DM said, outside emails, etc., are a good way to help in potential monopolization--I know Jax and I did a lot of emailing and note passing for his stuff last game (as we did for Calixto too). Lastly, do keep 'em guessing... like I said, I had no idea that you didn't have a master plan for all this... You've burst my bubble...

So speaking of emails... I have one to write to you and I better get on it before it gets too late...

Laters

"Do what I say and not what I do...."

[Hendrix]

Maybe I misspoke (mistyped?) earlier. I certainly have stories in mind (hence starting my planning with a list of dangling threads) but I guess what I was trying to say is that I sometimes feel like things are pretty disjointed from one week to the next since there isn't a single over-arching quest for the group beyond completing whatever tasks I set out for that session.

Now that I think about it, maybe that's my entire source of concern! In this campaign, I've pretty much set things up so that I am driving where things go every week ("Gauntlet says go do this!") versus previous campaigns where each session was more player-driven ("OK, so that's where we're at. What do you folks want to go do now?")

I think that is probably a clearer expression of my concern. It feels like the plot of previous campaigns have been more collaborative between the players and the GM, so I want to be sure that everyone is happy with this style of campaign.

Thanks DM and CB for helping me focus my concerns more clearly!

[Recaptress]

Well, we are recruits in training, so, a certain amount of "Gauntlet says do this!" is to be expected. And, our characters have done plenty of stuff that Guantlet most likely would rather they hadn't.
So, no worries there.

[Malirath]

Hey, look! I finally got around to replying!

Personally, I think I tend to like exploration and puzzles more than "story-driven" or "combat-driven". Though, that isn't to say I don't like those or that they are mutually exclusive. And I like variety. The fact that each of us runs the game differently is a good thing.

It seems like combat-focused is a usual fit for MSH.

I'm perfectly fine with the "taking orders" style of campaign. It's better than trying to make the players feel like they have a choice of what to do and then trying to make sure they pick what you prepared. Either give the orders in-game or run a true sandbox.

Maybe I'm weird, but I really enjoy other player's spotlight time. I get as much enjoyment out of that as I do from my own. I haven't seen that as a problem in this campaign.