Here's a little something I came across, totally at random, on USENET, that captured rather elegantly many of the techniques I try to bring to my Storyguiding. I e-mailed the author, asking permission to include his material on my web page; I have yet to receive a reply. Oh well. If someone objects, I'll make this go away. Until then . . .
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This is one school of thought. A different style, which I personally prefer, sees the GM as something akin to Nature's God in Deist thought - she creates the universe, painting in broad strokes, setting forces in motion - events (both among players and NPC factions) then take place and interactions happen, all governed by the laws originally set down, with the whole thing remaining internally consistent due to the GM's oversight.
Anecdotally, in the campaign I remember most, the world was carefully designed (i.e. stolen) by the GM, and the major NPCs were drawn up with meticulous care - not game stats, but motivations, feelings, and the like. This led to a rough timeline - certain events would happen, and happen in a certain sequence (although not at predetermined times) - that would take place *if* no outside forces acted. Then the characters were introduced, individually rather than as a group - and given the run of the place. No "mission", no "quest", just events that, as the plot proceeded, drew the characters in more and more fully - and all *by their own free choice*. The climactic episode was that much more satisfying - more so than in any other campaign, because the characters had had a direct impact in the clash of two major political forces, despite having started the campaign as first-level characters on their first adventure (well, some of them - two of us, the two most experienced players, were plants, but with individual incentives to help the party, rather than hinder it, at least until the appropriate time. It was also a roleplaying challenge - as the game went on, both plants and the GM dropped broader and broader hints that not all was as it seemed...).
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