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[Hakaisha]

As per the title: where is a good middle ground between story and action for a wide range of people?

To elaborate: I've been writing for years, although that was fiction of my own, where I am all-powerful and control all the characters and the plot.  My love of writing, exposition, and characterization stems directly from this.

I started RPGing about 2.5 years ago.  Learned the basic premises from D&D 4e, but this site was actually what spawned my real love for the idea--interacting with other people/writers!  Bouncing ideas off each other and act, reacting, with a touch of random chance because you can't control other characters' thoughts and actions and decisions!  It brought writing into a whole new realm of fun.

However--and I admit I am made biased by my fiction-writing, in which I could have as much or as little (usually the former, though) characterization and story depth as I want, lay bare the vulnerabilities of human emotion, etc. etc--I am heavily skewed towards plot-driven stories.  The idea of min/maxing to get the most badass character, best duel-wielding Ranger, best sharp-shooting gunbunny, etc. is...really not something I consider fun.  Without an overarching plot, it feels like a 'monster of the week' game.  But (especially in tabletop), a large percentage of players seem to consider kicking ass and taking names to be great fun in and of itself.

So, GMs...where do you find a middle ground?  The premise of PBP lends more weight to the possibility of being more story based, but of course it still depends on the GM.  How do you strike a balance between what is almost inevitably a wide range of preferences between story and butt-kicking action?

[Shay]

Hello there Hakaisha,

Glad you have found much inspiration in this site.   

I think you already have your answer contained within your appeal. 

And, it is that preferences vary quite widely amongst those who participate in this hobby.   

That makes striking a palatable and agreeable balance very challenging indeed - if you are considering the population of a site as a whole.  In fact, it is probably an act of futility to try.     

The best way to handle this dilemma, however, is to think very carefully about who you want to play in your game pre-commencement, and then write an advert designed to attract those sorts of players. 

Myself, though I have gamer roots like you do, I am far more inclined to the writing/role play side of it.  Even if I SC a story that uses a game system as an underlying engine, that still holds true.   So I make that very clear in my marketing bits for my stories.   I usually even go so far as to say that if you're looking for a perpetual slug/sword/shoot'em up fest, then you probably won't like me as an SC, or my offering.   

It's all about honesty in advertising - not trying to please the masses.   Decide who your desired castees are, in terms of their temperment and preferences, and target them when you recruit.  Describe to them what you expect your game be like once it is up and running.   

I've not played 4e D&D.  Everything I hear and read about it makes me believe it is designed to emulate contemporary video games like WoW a great deal.    If that's true, and you are running with that system, then you should expect players will want to see a good deal of action mixed with their writing and RP.   I guess you'd be looking at around a 50/50 split role playing/action, or even more weighted on the action side - but that's only my guess.   Whereas in the sort of medieval fantasy adventure I prefer and would run, it would be more like 75% writing/role play to 25% action, or even a bit less of the fighting.   

But that's all very rough surmise, and of course even diehard gamers are going to vary from person to person in what they like and prefer. 

The other thing that can be very effective and important to do is discuss the matter with your group before play commences.  Try to make sure everyone is on the same page as much as possible.   

In the end, there's no way you can be sure to please everyone.   So after you start, just stay true to your vision, while listening to what your players want from the game.   And above all, have some fun.  This IS an awesomely rewarding activity.