Are you a natural storyteller, or a natural implementer?
In the first installment of the series, I asked this question a different way, but we can really dig into the core of it. Does your natural slant tend towards the story or the action? In many ways, this is the right brained/left brained question from popular psychology, but it has profound effects on the way people throw events. Both approaches to eventholding are equally valid, but ideally you will want to polish your strength, and either work on the other half or staff your team with people who are good on the other side.
Natural implementers are mechanics people. Their goal is to throw a quest that is fun to take part in, and the story is there merely to glue the actions into a cohesive whole. These quests are meat and potatoes, with a less of an emphasis on characters or background. A mechanics quest looks like:
“You must find the fifteen orbs, one for each rune in the true name of the sorceress. They are held by one of the spirits who must be defeated by throwing these orbs of power at them. Place them in the correct order in the altar while under assault from the demons, and figure out from her spellbook the corresponding spells that must be given freely to strengthen her essence. Only then can her soul be called forth and put to rest”
Natural storytellers are worldbuilders. Their goal is to draw players in with deep characters and experiences that interact and immerse players who are willing to enter that world. They worry less about the specific action, as long as the story stays true to the narrative. Theatrics, “cut scenes”, individualized moments and dynamic NPCs are a hallmark of this type of storytelling. A storyteller quest looks like:
“The sorceress was tortured and annihilated for her insolence, torn from her broken body by the master she once proudly served. She did not die, fearing that only she could ultimately defeat him in his madness. Though he was felled by adventurers and forgotten about many years ago, her spirit still haunts the castle, searching for her revenge. Find either the kernel of her remorse left behind and convince her to end her hunt or design a ruse to prove that the master is dead. Only then can she rest”
Both quests are good; both have their strengths and weaknesses, and certainly certain styles are bound to appeal to certain types of players. In fact, eventholders who have a certain defined “style” tend to attract a playerbase who enjoys those types of quest very much, and tends to push away folks from the other school. It isn’t merely a question of who are “roleplayers” or not, but whether they are people having fun by doing something, or folks who are lost in the infinite possibilities of their imaginations.
If you look around the Realms, you can find examples of teams and individuals who slant towards a certain emphasis. You can also find examples of balanced teams which do a pretty good job checking the boxes for both styles of play. In future columns, we’re going to really dive deep into this question and what it means for your particular style, and the pitfalls that can trip you up. For now the takeaway is to be aware of your area of preference both in terms of being a player and what you feel comfortable being an EH for. It’s going to help frame the thought exercises to follow.