So I planned some bangs...

[glitchpop]

And one of the players has gone and written a Belief that contradicts some of what I have planned. I don't know what to do here. It seems according to the spirit of BW I should be abandoning my bangs because here I have a player who is telling me what he wants to do. But if I change the secret GM knowledge to reflect his Belief it undermines the potential story in action.

I could make aspects of his Belief red herrings but that deprotagonises the character in a way doesn't it?

I'm really stuck here because my bangs effect the other PCs as well. But then I don't wanna railroad the player just to get my way.

What shall I do oh wisw BWHQers? :confused:

I also wanted to say thanks for all the support here in general! I don't post very often here, but I use the search function like it's goin' outta style and that usually answers all my wildest questions :D

[artellan]

Maybe just talk to him about it? If you have "secret surprises" that you don't want to give away, you could talk about it an abstract way (like you did in your post). But maybe think hard on how much the surprises matter and be willing to discuss it with him if necessary. Together the two of you might come up with some rockin' ideas that you wouldn't have on your own!

I can definitely see that there's some stuff you wouldn't want to give away though (like the villain's plans).

[Mel White]

I'm really stuck here because my bangs effect the other PCs as well. But then I don't wanna railroad the player just to get my way.


I recommend first tell us what is the belief, and what are the bangs?
Second, let's make sure we have the same understanding of what is a 'bang'.
Bangs are situations that are open-ended in resolution, can't be ignored, and the choice made will push the story forward. The key is there is no GM pre-determined solution to the bang. So, simply presenting a bang--by definition--won't railroad the player.
If there is a 'bang' for which the GM has an expected, preferred solution, then it's not really a bang. It's a story hook.
Mel

[Kublai]

Which happened first, the changed Belief or the writing of the Bang? Belief changes ought to be approved by the GM, so you should've known about it before you wrote the Bangs.

[glitchpop]

Thanks for all the helpful comments artellan, Mel and Kublai.

I did just have a chat to him and he was totally cool with my suggested changes so all is good. I should have just gone straight to the player.

Yep. The Bang was first then the Belief. I know that Beliefs should be approved but that can be a fine line. I wanted to make sure I wasn't deprotagonising him.

All is cool!

cheers

Rich