I keep reading over various internets communities, how being a GM is hard, how player are ungrateful spoiled kids, and how much GM struggles.
So which games have tools/mechanics to ease the GM job, and which are these.
For this discussion I would focus on the game itself, rather than on method used by groups.
Even though I feel like I know some answers, judging how active the community is at the moment, I try to open that thread and may-be a few others to keep the /c/ alive
For 3- I still think about a post I made a while ago where I mentioned giving players more creative input as a means of increasing engagement. The example I gave was when the players returned to the magic academy the wizard had graduated from, I asked the wizard player what the lighting situation was in the grand hall. Like if they had lots of mundane candles, or a big chandelier, or magic lights, or what. He was pretty into it.
One person in the thread responded that they would hate that. They want to be told a story and explore a world! Asking them to make out-of-character decisions like that just ruins the whole experience for them.
Completely alien to me. I always look at these as like writing a story, and I’m never “being” my character.
Different strokes, of course. :)
I think for me and my group, it’s just a sometimes thing. I think I’d be happy to let players make some decisions about the world around them, but narrative control of action resolution just fell a bit flat.
It’s also why I like the distinction between “writing a story” and “being a character.” It indicates the difference without presenting either as better than the other, which is a risk when talking about… well, anything, especially online. :P