labcats | Identifying the Problem Can Be Half the Battle

Recently, I sent a post which was a cut scene between two NPCs to the play by email game that I run. This is the kind of game where good writing really helps.

And it was well written. I knew where it should go, and I got the rhythm. Now, what had preceded this was a scene where one of the PCs had said to NPC 1, "I'm having this problem with NPC 2, and this has the following unpleasant repercussions."

The two NPCs talked, and, as I said, the scene was well written. The player said, "But, it doesn't actually resolve my PC's problem."

Now, this is true, but after some thought, I have come to the conclusion that this is actually a good thing, because the actual problem with the scene is not the apparent problem.

The actual problem is that the coolness was coming from NPC 1, not from the PC. NPCs can be cool, and often should -- but PCs have to be cool. GMs need to give them opportunities for cool, or, if you prefer, for awesomeness.

Knowing this, I think I can nudge things back where they should be, i.e., into the player's hands.

Until I figured it out, I was trying to explain that NPC 1 couldn't be expected to work miracles overnight with NPC 2, but that isn't the issue. NPC 1 shouldn't be working the miracles.

It isn't necessarily a problem that the two NPCs had their conversation. To a certain degree, NPC 2 will take correction from NPC 1 far better than from the PC, as the NPCs are teachers and the PC is a high school student. To that degree, the PC is being cool by saying, "I will go to the right person to fix this."

But, it would be cooler if the PC got to do more, if the player has more opportunities for awesomeness. Knowing this, I realize that, actually, I must not let NPC 1 make the problem go away. Make it better, sure. Predispose NPC 2 to listen to the PC the next time, perhaps. But the tension should not be resolved in a PC-less scene.

TANGENT: Except when it should. Sometimes, a player wants to play the diplomatic game and solve problems by getting the NPCs to work things out. I do not think that this is the case here. END TANGENT.

Also, the player was trying to stretch things in a direction that we both liked because it was mildly uncomfortable, but which we ultimately agreed just did not work for the actual situation to hand. The lack of a complete resolution gives us the opportunity to look for situations that work better. And, given the probable specifics of where things are likely to go, I realized that there is an additional factor to rachet up the tension. I want to bounce that off the player to see if sounds like a good idea.