Do you like scripted goals for your characters?
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I’m fleshing out some characters for a larp I’m writing at the moment and I was wondering how people feel about goals being spelled out for them.
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Yes, but not because I hate to think, but because I would like to think about certain things and have my thoughts directed towards those things. Besides, that way you can have multiple characters who have complimentary or opposed goals and that just makes for interesting situations. (I’m assuming the larp you’re writing is a one-off. If a campaign, let 'em come up with their own)
Viperion
I like the world to react to what I do; to feel like what I do has an outcome.
I’m not so keen on any plot that involves collecting an ingredient list so we can perform some action to defeat a baddie. It’s a very formulaic part of larps that I normally try to ignore entirely.
I love the odd curve ball piece of plot that says to me “the GMs get my character”.
I also like being able to fail. To fall short from time to time makes the victories that much sweeter.
I generally prefer information-rich characters who have some dilemmas to sort out. And inventing my own new goal partway through is all to the good. I generally dislike Maguffin type plots (get object X, find out secret Y) because they usually feel very mechanical and rules-focused. Plus, I’ve never yet found a discreet way of asking for information in any way that will actually obtain any for me. (Although, that said, I’ve been involved in some object quests that I did find very engaging, but the game writers had done a good job of making the thing emotionally meaningful to the character.)
I like a broad outline or bullet points for goals.
A few hints as to who might know something about the goals, I’ve only found a couple of times that I’m barking up the wrong tree for information.
It doesn’t need to be direct, but if at least a small hint of who/what, so they can be approached, they might give more information or names of others that would know.
Actually, I have two diametrically opposed opinion son this:
[quote=“Derek”]Actually, I have two diametrically opposed opinion son this:
Also given other people’s comments here, I guess I need some clarification on the question - do you mean “Here is your goal” (i.e. your goals are spelt out), or “Here are your goals and here are some blindingly obvious hints about how to achieve them”.
I’m all for the first, not for the second
Viperion
Ah to clarify this is for a one off, theater form larp here in Wellington which will run for the standard 3 hours.
Also please take the Yes, No descriptors with tongue firmly in cheek.
[quote=“Viperion”]
Also given other people’s comments here, I guess I need some clarification on the question - do you mean “Here is your goal” (i.e. your goals are spelt out), or “Here are your goals and here are some blindingly obvious hints about how to achieve them”.
I’m all for the first, not for the second
Viperion[/quote]
Fair question. The former not the latter. As the writer/GM I don’t feel it’s ever my place to tell the players how to do it, that’s part of the fun.
Some random thoughts for your consideration:
From personal experience, I’ve never managed to achieve all my goals, and that’s always made me feel I’ve “failed”.
Also, it can sometimes be a drag when you get goals that aren’t personally interesting, don’t actually make sense for the character, or are tied to characters that may not show up because players can’t make it at the last minute.
But some people love goals and ticking them off and it gives them direction and purpose and a sense of achievement. They can also be helpful for new players as it gives some structure.
Experienced players sometimes, if not interested in the goals, will just disregard them and make their own fun.
So…
I guess consider if the goals are to help move plot, and if so make sure those are mandatory and somewhat achievable. Then maybe sprinkle in some broader suggestions such as:
“Your character wants to get wealthy and might consider getting money by starting a prostitution ring, buying and selling weapons or acting as a contract killer … or anything else your character might think of.”
I like being given character goals for short pregen larps.
For me, larp is about having interesting interactions with other characters. In a long weekend game, that happens enough spontaneously that I’m usually kept happy.
In a pregen larp with a limited amount of time to play, I like to be given some direction that will bring things to a head immediately so that opportunities aren’t missed due to time constraints. I trust the writers to write goals that will achieve that. But I’m also learning that it’s important to trust my own instincts for how a game is going, and that if I have my own ideas of what will work during play I shouldn’t ignore them just because they don’t fit within the written goals.
I like explicit goals for one-offs; they help to focus the mind and answer the question “what the hell do I want to do”. While you should be able to answer that from a thorough reading of the character sheet, its nice to have a summary.
At the same time, I don’t mind if those goals are unachievable, broad, or conflicting. And I may just ignore them if they don’t seem to make enough sense.
It can also be fun to have reasons to help other characters with their goals. At the Al Shir Ma larp, my character had a lot of friends, and I had a ball helping them with their problems. Fixing up marriages, scotching marriages, running messages. My own stuff was in there, somewhere, but I had a very wide field of things to do. I enjoyed the feeling of always being busy.
My answer is “Yes - I like to think.”
I totally agree with Derek’s post:
[quote=“Derek”]Actually, I have two diametrically opposed opinion son this:
With one-offs, playing characters written by other people, I like to know what the writer thinks the character is trying to achieve. Clear goals help define what plots and direction the writer(s) plans for the character to go in to drive their game forward or drive character interactions. In free-form games, goals help shape the game.
If the goals aren’t stated, then it can be difficult trying to decide what the parts of the backgrounds are important to the game (and therefore worth pursuing) as opposed to unimportant backstory (which can be a waste of time pursuing if no-one else in the game knows or cares about such details).
However, I like to think about how such goals can be achieved and what other goals may spring up during the game. I like games where the characters path isn’t completely set and the character faces choices about the situations on they are in.
I find it really depends on how the goals are worded. It also depends on the game of course because some games are more character driven, others plot (that’s out of player control) driven. I find that a list of character goals can be a great starting point from where to roleplay rather than a checklist which is moved through and achieved. I think if you focus to much on achieving your goals you will usually fail, so their definately be more emphasis on the roleplaying aspect of them.
Although as a writer of pre-gen larps I find that they are a great way to figure out if you’ve given the character enough plot, so even if you were to exclude them from the final character sheets a would make a little list.
I’ve had a couple of interesting discussions with a UK larper who thinks that character briefings not only shouldn’t contain goals, but shouldn’t contain anything beyond “this is your history” - not even why you did things in the past.
The idea is to leave it up to the player what their character’s motivations are, and the reasons for their past actions. Having the player invent rationalisations for their character’s actions may mean that invent something they will believe in more strongly and have more interest in playing out. Knowing their character with that kind of depth, from having invented it, means they should be able to create their own goals for the scenario and react as the character more automatically, and be more invested in the character.
I think trying running a larp that way would make an interesting experiment. It would still provide the pregen larp characters with histories that don’t conflict with the other characters. The question is, would the players interpret their character histories in a way that provides them with good reasons to interact with the other characters and the game situation in a way they’ll enjoy? I suspect it will work well for some players who tend to be more self-starting, and less well for players who prefer more direction. Overall though, I think the result might feel less game-like, less focused on achieving a set of structured opposing goals and more focused on playing characters.