Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: freeform

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    100

    freeform

    Has anyone played Star Trek in freeform style? Just leave the mechanics up to the Narrator who either uses a system of his choosing or flies by the seat of his pants. Its more like interactive storytelling than RPGing. Anyone doing it currently? Done it in the past? What do you think about this approach?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    2,548
    I've done it, both as a player (In a masterfully plotted epic D&D game), and as a GM, I ran my Star Trek game in that style. I liked it. In fact, I kind of prefer it.

    My players (except for the one who ran the aformentioned D&D game) were a little hestiant at first, so I started off making everyone roll behind a screen they couldn't see. Then I just did what was most fun and advanced the plot anyway.

    (I'm evil.)

    They got used to it very quickly, though.

    One good thing I can say about it is that the plot rarely slows down for combat or skill tests.

    We came up with a nickname for that style...

    "Whose Roll is it, Anyway?"
    "It's hard being an evil genius when everybody else is so stupid" -- Quantum Crook

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    Alexandria, VA
    Posts
    3,208
    I've been thinking a lot about Star Trek RPGing, and about diceless or rules-light gaming. So far, I like what I'm seeing in the game Primetime Adventures, which is a game heavily reliant on interaction and narration between the players and the GM, and focuses way more on drama and characters than on mechanics.

    I have a couple other rules light or diceless systems to look at, including Theatrix and Now Playing, so I'll report back if I see anything worthwhile.

    I do know my group is about ready for a change of pace. We've gotten tired of tweaking LUG or Coda or other systems.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 1999
    Location
    at my Home By The Sea
    Posts
    2,104
    Back in the schooldays a friend of mine and I did run a TNG campaign that was somewhat free form. It was fun!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Bodenheim, Germany
    Posts
    356
    I admit almost all of my trek games are free form (thank god for players who go with this), sometimes the players don't have to roll a dice at all. Only at crucible tasks i let them Roll to give them the feeling something really is at stake (although i never let them know that i just judge about their degree of success according to my story demands regardless of their results )

    I just hope they don't read this
    "Space may be the Final Frontier, but it's made in a Hollywood basement"

    Red Hot Chili Peppers "Californication"

    "per aspera ad astra"

    Seneca

  6. #6
    With a relatively good system, you're pretty much going to know what a given character can and can't do and not need to roll most of the time anyway. Keeping the game good, interesting, and progressing always seems to trump the die-rolling for me.
    "Thank god I'm only watching the game... controlling it!"

  7. #7
    I once played in a Trek game effectively taletop (minus the table) with a GM that was good enough to manage and plot and even built his own soundtracks. He was good enough that the soundtrack often fit the action, despite very tight plotting.

    I miss that game.

    When I tried it myself it just never seemed as good.

    I have also used freeform RPGing in Online/email games, both as a player and as a GM, and while it workls far better in that format (to allow for greater loss in communication between players in PBEM), the problem there seems to be that groups loose urgency and as plots spiral on and on with little resolution the few regular players drop off until hardly anyone posts...

    In short it works best in PBEM, but keep the group small and regular players to the core roles. but for face to face RPG's you are letting yourself in for a hell of time unless you know exactly what your doing!

    Good luck!
    DanG/Darth Gurden
    The Voice of Reason and Sith Lord

    “Putting the FUNK! back into Dysfunctional!”

    Coming soon. The USS Ganymede NCC-80107
    "Ad astrae per scientia" (To the stars through knowledge)

  8. #8
    Hows your Freeform game coming along Alex?
    DanG/Darth Gurden
    The Voice of Reason and Sith Lord

    “Putting the FUNK! back into Dysfunctional!”

    Coming soon. The USS Ganymede NCC-80107
    "Ad astrae per scientia" (To the stars through knowledge)

  9. #9
    Lately I've been wanting to adapt Spirit of the Century for Trek roleplaying, as FATE is one of the niftier incarnations of FUDGE to come along (though Now Playing is darn good, too). While not freeform, the mechanics are fairly lite and could be tweaked for diceless play with a little forethought.
    “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

    -- Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    100
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Gurden
    Hows your Freeform game coming along Alex?
    I don't have a freeform game. I came up with/adapted a Narrativist system that I have still not playtested (although I have playtesters and was really hoping to play Star Trek this month). While waiting on my play-testers to come up with characters and tell me when they can play I was trying to write my adventure outline into something that would be helpful based on the game system. At that point I realized that my system was so rules light and the adventures required so little rules information printed in them, that I began wondering if Star Trek wouldn't be fun just as a freeform game.

    I've been thinking about Trek a little this week, though, and I've got a good idea for a campaign. I just need to come up with some interesting adventures and then commit to actually having some games. My problem is never with the inventing, but always with the setting a date. Same with other RPGs, even D&D. Lots of good ideas, never ready to commit.

  11. #11
    I've done it this way for many years via open RPG, loosely using ICON, for my Triangle Quadrant Campaign.
    - LUGTrekGM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •