SWSaunders
09-12-2008, 02:21 PM
Yes you are correct and this cuts straight to the point.
How do you maintain the setting of a ship for a prolonged story arc unless you have internal conflict between characters? The reason they can pull this off in Firefly is because it is episodic so its always something new coming aboard or being discovered in space. Stringing these things together into one coherent and ongoing conflict will be somewhat difficult...any ideas?
Is this the actual problem? Because this has nothing to do with BW specifically, and more to do with plotting/writing.
How do you maintain the setting of a ship for a prolonged story arc unless you have internal conflict between characters? You give the characters strong motivations (beliefs) to stay on board the ship and work together, even if begrudgingly.
Examples: Mal (debatably) believes "This ship is my home, and my crew is my family." Zoe has (debatably) no strong attachment to the ship itself but does have a strong attachment to Mal (as her superior officer and fellow veteran), so she'll stay by his side; Wash has strong ties to Zoe, so he's there. Kaylee sees Mal as a father-figure and loves the ship because of her affinity with machines. Inara loves the ship and Mal, and only chooses to leave when she realizes how unhealthy the attachment has become. Simon has a belief that he must hide and protect his sister, and the ship is the best chance to succeed for a time; plus his growing attachment to Kaylee. Book has grown a strange mentorish relationship with Mal, and (like Inara) he leaves after reflecting on his beliefs.
You and your players collaboratively create characters which have ties that bind.
The motivation/drive in the series are earning money - fuel, ship repair, wages, "a powerful need to eat" - and, since Mal's the captain, avoiding (or sticking it to) the Alliance. Then you can generate any number of situations or conflicts that arise from pursuing those goals. Hell, house-rule that no character can have Resources over (X), so that earning money to run the ship is mandatory, immediate, and important in almost every game (it wasn't in the series; look at "The Message", where the entire episode dealt with the arrival of a package; the immediate goal in that episode was self-preservation coupled with doing right by an old friend).
I ran a Savage Worlds game based on the Firefly universe, and am looking forward to trying it out using the Burning Wheel mindset. The mechanics may work or may not, but the philosophy of the Burning Wheel is exactly the philosophy I want to engage amidst collaborating, immersive story-telling players.
How do you maintain the setting of a ship for a prolonged story arc unless you have internal conflict between characters? The reason they can pull this off in Firefly is because it is episodic so its always something new coming aboard or being discovered in space. Stringing these things together into one coherent and ongoing conflict will be somewhat difficult...any ideas?
Is this the actual problem? Because this has nothing to do with BW specifically, and more to do with plotting/writing.
How do you maintain the setting of a ship for a prolonged story arc unless you have internal conflict between characters? You give the characters strong motivations (beliefs) to stay on board the ship and work together, even if begrudgingly.
Examples: Mal (debatably) believes "This ship is my home, and my crew is my family." Zoe has (debatably) no strong attachment to the ship itself but does have a strong attachment to Mal (as her superior officer and fellow veteran), so she'll stay by his side; Wash has strong ties to Zoe, so he's there. Kaylee sees Mal as a father-figure and loves the ship because of her affinity with machines. Inara loves the ship and Mal, and only chooses to leave when she realizes how unhealthy the attachment has become. Simon has a belief that he must hide and protect his sister, and the ship is the best chance to succeed for a time; plus his growing attachment to Kaylee. Book has grown a strange mentorish relationship with Mal, and (like Inara) he leaves after reflecting on his beliefs.
You and your players collaboratively create characters which have ties that bind.
The motivation/drive in the series are earning money - fuel, ship repair, wages, "a powerful need to eat" - and, since Mal's the captain, avoiding (or sticking it to) the Alliance. Then you can generate any number of situations or conflicts that arise from pursuing those goals. Hell, house-rule that no character can have Resources over (X), so that earning money to run the ship is mandatory, immediate, and important in almost every game (it wasn't in the series; look at "The Message", where the entire episode dealt with the arrival of a package; the immediate goal in that episode was self-preservation coupled with doing right by an old friend).
I ran a Savage Worlds game based on the Firefly universe, and am looking forward to trying it out using the Burning Wheel mindset. The mechanics may work or may not, but the philosophy of the Burning Wheel is exactly the philosophy I want to engage amidst collaborating, immersive story-telling players.