Solomoriah Speaks 23: Of Stories and Storytellers

[@ultimategabriel]

I agree with your points Chris. I have many stories, specially when I was younger that I knew wouldn’t be known publicly by anyone yet I still like making them. I like making stories because I like making stories. And also, I like stories made by others (if they’re to my tastes). If the story is good, I’d enjoy repeated readings/viewings/hearings of it, even if the impact of the first time consumption is different.

[@DMTalesTTRPG]

I have no way to count the number of stories that live in my head, and have been built out over most of my life, that no one has ever heard. Stories are how I meditate, they are my peace.

[@codydrebenstedt7221]

To me, my love of stories is what drives me to want to create intresting and compelling stories. And while I hope i eventually have the confidence to show some of them to others, its not really because i want an audience. I just want to create something that brings other people the same enjoyment ive gotten from reading or watching something. To me, the idea of creating something because you want to draw an audience is almost antithetical to the craft that goes into the creative process of making a story. Companies like Disney make media to draw an audience, and i feel that is a large part of why anything they touch eventually becomes soulless and formulaic. Copy and paste, add in a few winks and nods to fans, but nothing to risky because we need the audience. Someone who writes stories should love stories. Familiar stories, new stories, both are just as exciting to me. I enjoy a familiar story because i know whats going to happen and im excited to see the events play out again. For new stories i love to find out what happens next (even though i have this annoying habit of spotting plot points well ahead of when im supposed to). To me, the enjoyment of the story is why i choose to write. In the end, i dont care if other people read them, only that if they do, they will get the same enjoyment i did from creating it.

[@HermieMunster]

A good storyteller can make a relatively mundane thing in everyday life sound interesting.

[@freddaniel5099]

Your argument makes sense to me. We plan for and rehearse a wedding, yet we also remember the event even it it all goes according to plan and there are no surprises. A familiar story can be entertaining to hear/read again and can even provide new enlightening. A sermon on some familiar verses is no less enjoyable because we are familiar with the text. The nodding heads are testament to the approval the listeners feel hearing the familiar words. Singing a familiar ballad can be enjoyed both by the performer and the audience and likely includes no surprises for either. Obviously this can be applied to our TTRPG hobby as well. There are classic modules that I have enjoyed from both sides of the DM screen through multiple playings. Here's a thought... memes are often intended to be humorous or to be interpreted in multiple ways. 🤷‍♂️

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

Good stories get better each time, because you find something new. The idea of "stories as surprise" are almost like designing a good RPG scenario. Good ones allow for a lot of choices, and chances for everyone to be surprised. So might be a matter of different focuses in different situations. Adjusting the dials or something.

[@ChrisGonnerman]

When it comes to old school games, I've often said that we as GMs should not write stories for our players to carry out. Rather, we create situations, and the story comes from how the players deal with the situations.

[@toddlyons]

The 2E campaign I fell into 4 years ago when I resumed gaming reminded me why a TTRPG adventure shouldn't be driven by a story. I was essentially playing a minor character in the DMs narrative. It got so bad that he was sending 10-20 pages of prose (US letter-sized) in between game sessions that I had to read to understand what was happening from week to week. The principal characters were the DMs own NPCs. I quit, but continued to play with Jon Hunt (who I'd met there) in another more sensibly-managed game.

[@ChrisGonnerman]

Wow. I have no words, except... wow.

[@toddlyons]

@@ChrisGonnerman All that to say, I agree with you. I like to provide ingredients: situations, personalities, objects, goals... ideally with a bit of friction or conflict between them. I will add a bit of background story so the DM can understand "How'd we get in this situation?" But everything else comes from Player choice.

[@Bird_That_Steals]

Hi, do you have a link for the opening music ? assuming its from a larger piece ofc, my shazam thingy cant find anything unfortunately.

[@ChrisGonnerman]

As the credits at the end reveal, it's called The Vision, by Oleg Serkov. It's from his streaming-only album Epoch Symbol. Googling finds multiple sources, and I don't remember which one I got it from originally.

[@Bird_That_Steals]

@@ChrisGonnerman Thanks! I did not notice the credits, smh

[@DMRaptorJesus]

I think your videos are good because it seems like its stuff you want to talk about, my channel is peanuts compared to yours but I just do what I want and sometimes I get great views sometimes I know its just my 6 bros watching it lol! So I think you should put content up here you enjoy making, but your words of wisdom in old school gaming is always welcome!

[@ChrisGonnerman]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Expect some gaming discussion in my next video, though. Got to play to my strengths.

[@craig7185]

I would love to know what led him to make that statement because it is so demonstrably wrong. I have the feeling that there was one conversation or event that would make it clear where he is coming from and give some sense of context for it.

[@chameleondream]

The are many different reasons you can enjoy a story. Finding out what happens next is just the tip of the iceberg. Or better, it's the tires on your car, it definitely needs to be there but you don't enjoy driving a lamborghini because it comes with a set of pirelli tires. I think more important is the matter of presentation. Stranger Things is a series that depends on nostalgia and the matter of figuring out what happens next but it lacks presentation and because of this it has no rewatchability. Compare this to Star Wars: A New Hope. Sure people were intrigued to find out what happens, but back in 1977 once the film finished many watchers left the theater and got right back in line to catch the next showing. Star Wars had a good story but what made it amazing was the substance of the film and the way it was presented, something the sequels and prequels failed with miserably. So your friend is not wrong, but he's a few miles short of being right.

[@CavernadoLekkis]

Totally out of topic. Please, explain why we have Barklings in BFRPG and not Meowlings? I believe you like cats, right? 😅

[@ChrisGonnerman]

I like cats, and dogs. But that has nothing to do with why we have Barklings. They are an artifact of the 4E development process; you'd have to check the forum to learn more.

[@CavernadoLekkis]

@@ChrisGonnerman I know. I follow the forum and the Facebook group silently. I was just kidding. 😃😅

[@theeyewizard8288]

I don't disagree with anything you said. And there are books and stories and movies and comics and stuff that I still enjoy after the first time. But it's a different enjoyment. My meme is voluntarily extreme. And there is a reason for that. Story-driven GMs despise OSR as they believe (and say) that it's some sort of abstract spreadsheet game with tasteless combats and 2D characters. No drama, no weight, no emotion, no story and so on... Even sometimes it's pure lies, to defend their way of running games. So they don't have to evolve. They don't like the story they craft for themselves, for their own enjoyment. The story is just a tool. They expect it to be effective. They expect it to be surprising for the players with twists and all.They need to include the many backstory elements of the PCs in hope to get them involved. They don't enjoy the story when they use it at the table neither. The story becomes a constraint, a burden. So the appeal to discover what's next, which is real when you read a story for the first time, story-driven GM don't have it. They even dislike it. They want to control what happens next and the game is about covering the tracks, improvising when PCs go off-road but leading them inevitably to the predetermined outcome. They don't like the "story", they like to share it, to give emotions to the players. And the main emotion they get as GM is frustration (I was one). Telling them that they can enjoy the "story" when not knowing what happens next (like ANYONE who likes stories when they read them for the first time) is my mission (as I wished someone told me earlier too). In any case, "story" focus is irrelevant in the context of the character. From his point of view, it's not a story nor a game. Conan doesn't know that he's stuck on a narrative path. It's his reality and he retains his free will. And it works for the reader if he believes in Conan's free will as well. If he can't, If he keeps thinking about Howard behind his type-writter trying to entertain him and that it's all fake, magic is broken. Even if it's true. Howard depicts Conan's adventures in order to entertain the reader. But he doesn't entertain Conan. RPG purpose is to embody Conan. Character Agency is at the core of the experience. Player shouldn't focus on what the story WILL be or worse, on what the story IS about. They need to suspend their disbelief and be in the moment in order to act with their character's mindset, in first person view mode. RPG is immersion.

[@ChrisGonnerman]

Yeah, as I told John (Sharp Mountain Games), I don't believe GMs should write stories for our players to carry out. We should create situations, and the story comes from what the players do with the situation.

[@theeyewizard8288]

@@ChrisGonnerman I’ve seen your other videos Chris. And I’ve read your Primer book. I know😄. I began my OSR switch thanks to you, even if I took the DCC route in the end. My first OSR is Basic Fantasy.