TV or Movie?

[Seath Darcstar]

My DM has two games he runs at his store. The first is the standard D&D game, the other is HARN. Both games have been going on for years (in one way or another, with the same players if not the same characters).

Well, the D&D game was always action packed, and along the way one of us mentioned it was like a TV show since it was so full of action and drama. This was made even more prevalent by the fact the DM likes to end the session with a cliffhanger as often as possible. Eventually, we came to the point were we even started naming each game session as if it were an episode of TV. Character’s ambushed while escorting a caravan? Well of course that episode would be “Wagon Full.” Character falls to his death? “Flight of angels.” And so on.

As to the Harn game, well since we were already making comparisons, the GM decided it needed to be compared to a media form. Because any combat in that game system is near fatal, and death is permanent, they spend session after session avoiding it and role-playing their characters. Full of political intrigue and complex relationships, it was a naturally considered to be a huge novel (with the game sessions being chapters.)

Now the question: When you look at your games, are they TV like, Novel like, Movie like? OR something else entirely.

BTW: I strongly suggest that the players (if they are serious) name each session and maybe even jot down a paragraph or two. You’ll find it is immense fun seeing the story arch in miniature. And if nothing else it’s just fun to come up with clever names.

[Seath Darcstar]

Ooops. I messed the poll up a bit, I included an OTHER option, but it did not register...

[goodmangames]

BTW: I strongly suggest that the players (if they are serious) name each session and maybe even jot down a paragraph or two. You’ll find it is immense fun seeing the story arch in miniature. And if nothing else it’s just fun to come up with clever names.

That's a cool idea. I might have to start doing that.

Definitely movies for me... lots of combat, mixed in with episodic adventures that tend to tie into larger themes.

[Seath Darcstar]

C'mon people...lets get so more votes in there!

[Seath Darcstar]

There hould bemore votes than this/ Come on peoples. You don't have to post to vote!

[JediOre]

Golden Age sword & sorcery short stories for me. At least that's what I aim for when I DM. I don't make my own adventures, I buy 'em. Each is a story to itself but with elements bleeding over from one to the other.

[Black Knight]

I'm running two games at the moment (both set in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor). My home game is definitely a movie-like epic with large scale battles (where the PCs are leading small units in armies against clans of rampaging orcs) and with some intense inter-personal relationships between the characters. Each session is a new "scene" or series of scenes in a movie format.

My online game is a novel. Every session is another chapter. A decent amount of action and adventure, but heavy on mood-altering horror splashes. Matter of fact, people can read the session logs at http://jpquinn.mortality.net/player/ (session 4's log is MIA, and session 5 will be up soon).