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Unwritten: System Reference Document/The Art of Gamemastering
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==Be “awesome” the Unwritten way== One of your jobs is to make everyone look awesome, right? Well, in Unwritten, “awesome” has a specific definition. That definition is based off of creativity, cleverness, and discovery. ===Avoid force as a focus=== Unwritten treats force as interesting. Sure, there are times when you just have to bash down a door, but that isn’t what this game is about. It’s focused on applying your mind to a situation. In a way, every situation is a puzzle to be solved—make that the foundation of how you present the game. In those cases where force is needed, don’t use a traditional RPG ‘combat scene’. Rather, de-emphasize force and violence by minimizing the attention it gets, both in terms of story and in mechanics. Resolve those situations with a single roll, or even considering just declaring them without dice. Move on quickly. Situations that require thought should be made the centerpiece of a session. Walk through the details of sneaking into that DRC compound, or the process the characters are using to build the machine they are working on. Ask questions: “How does that work?”, “Why do you do that?” and “What do you think the effects of that will be?” Weave those answers into the game as it goes along. ===Reward creativity=== The environments found in the Myst games are creative and inventive. Ideally, role-playing in Unwritten should be the same. Challenges the characters encounter should be designed to evoke thought from your players. You want them to approach the entire game as an exercise in problem-solving and thinking outside of the box. Why? Because creative solutions make better stories. Which game story do you want to tell your friends about: the time you pulled off this amazing off-the-wall plan, or the time when you did that same thing you always do? Characters lead interesting lives, so encourage your players to approach the game with that in mind. So, roll with those nifty ideas that your players come up with. Give them more time in the spotlight. Especially interesting solutions should end up with lower opposition than mundane ones. If it really wows the table, consider just saying “That’s so cool! It happens!” ===The road to awesome is paved with curiosity=== Think back to the horror movies you have seen; poking around in dark places is the worst thing you could do. Unwritten is the opposite of that—characters should be poking their noses into everything. Incentivize exploration. Spend more time on playing out situations centered around inquiry and exploration. Present more opportunities to the characters when they overcome obstacles on the way to uncharted territory. Sometimes a character might act risky, maybe even unwise, in that pursuit. Do not penalize characters for it. That doesn’t mean that players should get away with anything. Rather, actions rooted in a desire to know more should always lead to interesting situations. Curiosity shouldn’t kill the cat, but give it an even bigger challenge that it can step up to. ===Keep adding questions to be answered=== There is an old adage in games that when things get boring, you maintain the tension by bringing in someone who starts shooting. Unwritten’s version of this is to bring in a new mystery. If you have had something waiting in the wings, bring it into play. Describe something strange happening: a flickering light across the cavern, a strange book in a language no one can read, whatever. This is also a great time to look through the Age Library you created when starting the game and drop a Linking Book into play. New experiences are new opportunities for a character; encourage that theme. When you have a reasonable choice between going back to an old situation or place and a new one, choose the new one. If you go back to an old one, put a new twist on it; make it new and different.
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