I've had several players in that world, and not one of them ever wanted to be the king. No one ever married Margaret. The offer is for a huge amount of wealth including the hand of your choice of the princesses; kingship only comes with it if you marry Margaret and outlive her father.
Personally, given Margaret's very proper personality and regal bearing, I tend to think that the guy who would find her attractive would also find being king attractive; but I've not yet put such a person in that scenario.
I'm still surprised that the guy who almost shot a companion over whether to split eighty thousand dollars evenly between five people instead of using it as a community fund would not have been attracted by the possibility of a substantial monetary reward. That, incidentally, was before you were aware that gold, silver, and precious stones grew on trees in the related universe which the princesses were visiting.
I think that the premise of the Dancing Princess revolves around the notion that a verser would think there was something worth investigating, and a chance to establish himself as at least comfortably well-off for the foreseeable future.
O.K., maybe that's gamer thinking. After all, gamers are quite accustomed to the idea that their character will be sitting in a tavern/bar/inn/speakeasy/pub and pick up some hint that there's something going on somewhere, and immediately think there might be something interesting and valuable over there--gold, lost magic, fame and glory, credibility, practice, profit of some sort. So gamers are used to the idea that you have to pay attention at least a little bit and look for something odd. Sure, it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes you stumble into it entirely by "accident". Sometimes you pursue something that looks odd and it winds up being nothing of importance. Sometimes it gets handed to you rather blatantly (businessman wants to hire bodyguards, town leaders need someone to rid the nearby caves of monsters, kidnappers drug you and dump you in their not entirely escape-proof prison). But most of the time you do have to do a bit of looking around to notice that there's something that smells of a potential adventure.
Every other player I've dropped in that world could smell it, that there was something happening with the princesses that had the potential to be interesting. You--well, you seemed to think that I was trying to hook you into getting involved in this sleepwalking princess thing, and that you weren't going to do it for that reason.
--M. J. Young
I'm still surprised that the guy who almost shot a companion over whether to split eighty thousand dollars evenly between five people instead of using it as a community fund would not have been attracted by the possibility of a substantial monetary reward.
Actually MJ, that was part of the reason why I WASN'T attracted to it. Unlike some people, (Whisp) I do have the capability of learning from my mistakes. That incident with the eighty thousand dollars, I kind of see that as eighty thousand reasons not to worry about money as a verser. Just from working for Mr. Smith and doing trading, I came out with over 25 pounds of silver and 10 pounds of gold. I think I made out OK as far as the money was concerned.
And as far as almost shooting my companion, it wasn't over the money, it was because I wasn't about to let them cheat me out of my fair share. It was a matter of principle, not a matter of money.
I think that the premise of the Dancing Princess revolves around the notion that a verser would think there was something worth investigating, and a chance to establish himself as at least comfortably well-off for the foreseeable future.
Well, I'm also unlike most people in that, if I won the lottery, I don't think I would buy a huge house and live the high life. Most people who do win the lottery end up bankrupt because they do just that. I would probably live in a five hundred dollar a month apartment and live pretty much the same as I do now. I'd have a nice car, but it would be probably a hopped up Ford Crown Victoria, not a Corvette.
Every other player I've dropped in that world could smell it, that there was something happening with the princesses that had the potential to be interesting. You--well, you seemed to think that I was trying to hook you into getting involved in this sleepwalking princess thing, and that you weren't going to do it for that reason.
I could kind of smell that there was something going on there, but it didn't attract me. Like I said earlier, I would be competing against God knows how many people to solve a problem that I really didn't see as a problem, for a reward that I didn't really see as all that valuable. The world I'm in now, gold and silver are scrap metals. The blacksmithing skills helped me get a good job. Which one was more valuable?
Two Posts
Something about Dancing Princess that I don't understand. Why is it that the verser is the only person who can save the princesses? I mean I understand from a game perspective that the player has to have something to do, but I'm speaking real-world. Why couldn't any of the other nobles and people answering the call fix it? Or is it that everyone ends up engaging the demons in combat, so only someone with a gun could defeat them?
If you show up early, there's a mystery to solve, and the situation makes it difficult. I imagine many players don't succeed, and I'm not surprised that none of the NPCs do either.
As far as engaging the demons in combat, bear in mind that they were only revealed as demons because the holy warrior you summoned had the ability to dispel illusions. No one else had reason to suspect foul play (because you were the one who was told by God that something was up), so if you hadn't intervened, the princesses and the kingdom would have been doomed.
Short answer: the demons are darned good at what they do. The verser's the only one who can save the princesses because he's the only one the demons didn't already plan for, and even so, he's likely to fail.
That makes good sense Scott.
I'll tell you something. It totally infuriated me when I botched and died right after defeating the demons. I mean I was >< THAT close to having the gratitude of the king. Still wouldn't marry the princesses, but I could have had it all.
That irked me more than you could imagine. Of course, it was a prayer botch, so that makes it God's doing, not mine.
Scott's right. The first guy I ran in this world wound up fleeing for his life when he was arrested to be executed after failing to rescue the princesses--they had not returned that morning. He fled into their bedroom, and realized that the rug had been pulled aside, so he worked a spell to open the door he figured had to be there, and went after the demons from there. He was trying to save them before that, but I thought he had failed, and then he kind of stumbled into success.
It's not at all easy to save the princesses.
--M. J. Young
MJ, the way to get me to get involved would be for something to happen right in front of me. Not an MP that arrests me and takes me into the compound against my will, not something I'm hearing about 50th hand. A plot device that happens right in front of me. A car accident, someone being harmed. A fight. Children being hurt, that kind of thing.
I was riding my bike home from church one time, and a drunk driver went off the road and crashed his car into a tree on the other side of the street. If I had been on that side of the street, I probably would have been dead or in the hospital. And indeed, if not for the tree, it would have been much, much worse. (There was a glass-front grocery store in the car's path, if the tree hadn't been there.) I stopped to help the driver. Not much I could do, as all the doors were locked, but some other bystanders called emergency services. I wasn't about to break the window for a guy with no obvious injuries. (He was passed out at the wheel, but had a seat belt on.) I just tried to disconnect the battery to shut the horn off. When the police and paramedics arrived, I gave a witness report, and the guy was arrested. (Paramedics checked him, he wasn't injured.) Something like that would be a good "Draw John into the story" plot device to use for me.
The MP was absolutely the single worst plot device that could have possibly been used for me. First off, Pearl Harbor was something that absolutely needed to happen, or the country probably wouldn't be what it is now. I wouldn't touch that with a 50 foot cattle prod. That's why I was so insistent that I would have just wanted to leave. Getting involved there would be catastrophic to everything this country is now. I have a better understanding of why it was needed, but next time, let the player know where he is first before you pull that. You would find out if he would go willingly under his own power, or if you had to force him. If he doesn't go willingly, try to force him with the MP. How far will the player go to avoid getting involved? That could be just as important to know. Just some advice from a player to referees, that's all.
See, if I had known I was at Pearl Harbor the day before the attack (Perhaps I land in front of a sign that tells me where and when I am) I would have acted much differently. There are undoubtedly a lot of people who feel the way I do about that one. If I knew where I was, and had the chance to leave, THEN you sent the MP after me, I would have put up far greater resistance to being arrested. What could you learn about the player that way? Again, just some advice from a player to referees.
By the time I found out where I was, he had his gun on me. If I knew where I was, and he DIDN'T have his gun out, but was still coming and I had a reasonable chance to escape.... I would have acted way differently. I'm sure a lot of people would feel that way.
Titanic, on the other hand, was senseless death. I probably have a better chance of surviving that if I don't get involved. (I've got guns, I could steal a lifeboat all by myself, if I wanted to be selfish) However, that I would probably have tried to stop. I'd TK pulse the iceberg out of the ship's way if I had to. If it still crashed, you better believe I would help, and probably go down with the ship.
Two posts
And yes, I'm doing psychosis therapy. Notice the improvement in my board behavior? This is actually part of the therapy.
Three Posts, and no more
For historical worlds, ALWAYS let the player know where and when they are BEFORE you do anything else. Perhaps when the player looks up, they see a life preserver with "Titanic" written on it, before you use any other plot devices. Maybe when the player lands in Pearl Harbor, they catch a broadcast of the PA system. "This is Sergent Hastings with the Pearl Harbor daily news report. The date is December 5th, 1941, the temperature is 73 degrees. And in other news....." Something like that. You have to factor in the player's personal thoughts on the matter, as in my Pearl Harbor vs Titanic example. Maybe the player would stop this willingly, but needs to be "coaxed" to get involved in the other. How do they feel about that event? I honestly believe if I had known where I was, I would have been willing to kill the MP rather than get arrested. By the time I found out, it was too late to prepare myself to do it. How does the player feel about that particular event? Is that particular event something the player wants to stop, or one that they would resist getting involved in, because they know the consequences of that? I mean it IS a valid point to consider.
That's how strongly I feel about Pearl Harbor, and that I DON'T want to get involved there. If I knew where I was, I would have tried to escape. I had the van, so if you sent the MP after me, I would have gone into evasive tactics. If I had to, it would have come to a gunfight. On foot, I would have still tried to flee, and likely would have shot his jeep apart when I saw him coming. THAT is how much I WOULD NOT want to get involved at Pearl Harbor. You MUST consider that for historical worlds. By the time I found out where I was, it was too late to try to flee, and I don't care what anyone else says about that. I apologize if this sounds like yelling or sounds rude, but that's something no one else considered. How far would the player go to avoid getting involved in a particular situation? If I knew where I was and tried to run, then you sent someone after me, would I surrender willingly? Would I try to kill the guy rather than get involved? If he called for reinforcements, would I rather gunfight half a dozen MPs than surrender? How far would I go to NOT get involved? That could be just as important for the referee to know.
Some historical events I would stop, others I wouldn't. I'm sure everyone has that kind of thinking. Some events don't need stopped. Nobody ever considered that.
Four posts, (I know, I said I would stop, but this is really cool)
I had a van. I had enough food and weaponry in that van to turn that into a 2 day standoff between me and the Pearl Harbor security team. Tell me that wouldn't be an exciting story for everyone!!!!!! How far would the player be willing to go to NOT get involved? That's the question you need to be asking.
If I could find shelter, in the form of something that they would be reluctant to destroy (A munitions depot, for instance. Who in their right mind would risk the explosion?) or a place with some unarmed civilian hostages, (a tour group, perhaps) I could easily see that going into a 2 day seize rather than me surrendering to them. If I had only know where I was first, and had time to think about it.