As a solo game:
- The Aspects didn't add anything more than the original Mythic RPG Character Summary, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Favor Points would have.
- I can indulge in the GME's occasionally wacky outcomes as much as I'd like knowing I'll make sense of everything some day.
- The Mythic RPG + GME is fine just just the way it is for solo.
As a social game:
- I hoped for a "no-prep" game, believing FATE's "pick-up" style and Mythic questions would facilitate cool spontaneous gaming. Unfortunately, as it is wont to do, the Mythic GME created a plot that meandered. Acting as GM with 4 players at my table, I found the GME leaving me stumped as I tried to key interpretations to the players' characters without imposing too much on their freedom of choice. It was an un-fun tightrope walk at times that didn't always create dynamic scenes.
- Not everyone enjoyed the Aspect creation process. They would have preferred fewer Aspects - probably 6 - and more guidance, i.e. "Aspect 1" and "Aspect 2" were not as evocative as, say, "Ambition" or "Adversity." Mythic Weaknesses might have been better to use, anyway.
- Having a skills list to choose from was extremely helpful.
- Random event interruptions were terrific! Players loved/hated rolling doubles!
- Strengths were a great deal easier to use than FATE Stunts and sped character creation along nicely.
So, for solo, the systems on their own are just fine. For social, the Mythic RPG in its original form is worth a go, but I'd develop an Abilities menu for players to choose from, maybe even Strengths and Weaknesses lists, too, in the same manner as the Skills and Stunts of FATE games set in specific worlds.
As for a "no-prep" game, I can't rely on the GME in social games like I can for solo. The players need more structure.
One of the players suggested tables that follow the 9Qs. I might try that.
Oh, I should also just add that adapting he Skills Pyramid from FATE for Mythic RPG Attributes and Abilities worked very nicely. I might keep that component after all.
ReplyDelete" the Mythic GME created a plot that meandered"
ReplyDeleteI have only tried to use the GME once in a social game and the sticking point was this very issue. My player wanted more notable progress on plot lines than the GME often provides. I had to take the reigns and move things along myself.
As a solo gamer, I'm invested in the whole world that the GME shapes, so if 'my' character doesn't make headway on the major plot line right away, that's OK because I'm creating a world.
In a social game, I think if players don't buy into the world creation aspect of a Mythic game, or, as in any game, they feel the gains from scenes are too small in proportion to the amount of effort they put in, the GME will produce boredom/frustration for them, and stress for the GM, more often than not.
Your last point is an important one, and it articulates precisely what my group experienced.
DeleteAs much as I hate being a railroading GM, players in a story-based RPG session (as opposed to an exploratory one) expect developments and revelations in a timely fashion. The GME might not always be able to provide that.
My players were tracking a mystery figure through the jungle and never did find out who he or she was or what role he or she had played in the action. That bugged them, though I, as a solo player, would be happy to have a lingering question to be answered another day.
Your 9 Q's are handy antidote to plot meandering IMO. I know you usually use it with Rory story cubes but do you ever use it with Mythic and in a social game?
DeleteI used the 9Qs with Mythic solo, but not with a group. I've already considered it as the solution to my structure problem - moreso as a pre-game inspiration session than one used during the game (but that might work, too).
DeleteA solid setting that is familiar to everyone would be best for this try, rather than evoking the vanilla trappings of a generic setting (as in "fantasy world" vs. the Forgotten Realms). I need to find the right place...
JF,
ReplyDeleteI thought you'd find this page interesting as a way to make FATE gmless. THere might be some applications here to solo play:
http://www.phreeow.net/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Zero%20Sum%20FATE
Interesting way to use the FATE combat round robin method. It's sort of a combo RPG and joint storytelling game like Cosmic Patrol.
DeleteThe folks I had over might not all appreciiate the responsibility of the method, but I do think it's pretty inspirational. Thanks!
I play the Mythic GM emulator without an additional ruleset. I find the additional rules given in the full Mythic rules overly clunky. Why resort to additional charts when everything comes down to a judgement call anyway? I resolve via the Fate Chart. For example, if a character is an elite hacker it is a "sure thing" that he can get into grandma's online bank account.
ReplyDeleteI would encourage any solo gamers out there give that method a go.
And I strongly second that suggestion!
DeleteAs to your other comments, you are right that the Mythic RPG is clunky, but not in every way. It's the combat system that is the truly clunky part. All other kinds of task resolution are very elegant. In fact, it all uses ONE chart, the same as the GME, just with expanded cross-referencing elements.
Why I'm bothering with this is that I'm trying to do something solo that will play well socially, and players are happier with more control. Some sort of "statted" character sheet will give them that feeling of control in a way that questions with arbitrary designations of likelihood just can't.
Still testing, though...
Very interested in future endeavors in this vein! Big fan of Fate as of Core, which has simplified things a bit and become perhaps more explicit in terms of character creation (5 aspects, 3 of which are tied to other characters and make great story hooks)
DeleteFate Core, yes....on my list. Is the final version available yet?
Delete