01-27-2020, 04:20 PM
New phone, who dis?
Hello there, I'm Hokan#7154 on discord. I am one of the newest newbs around here, racking up a little more than a month of time on disco. In such a short period of time I have heard a number complaints, one of the more interesting ones was a lack of things to do in game. Although there is a few reasons I've heard, this idea may provide some remedy.
So, what's a Sector DM?
If you're familiar with D&D, then I'm sure you are familiar with what a DM is. If you're not, i'll try to briefly elaborate:
A Dungeon Master (DM) in D&D is the guy/gal who sets up the situation, improvises the outcome and develops the story for their group of adventurers to be apart of.
Due to the nature of Freelancer and Disco, much of the work of the DM isn't needed, the world is built and the pieces are set already. So what is left for a DM to do?
To answer this, it would be easier to point to a few events that have already taken place. The three that have happened during the month I've been here are the attack on the HMS Sterling, and the two impromptu events, one involving Nomad Fleets in Thuringia and another with cultist.
A Sector DM would essentially take the responsibility of the GMs to host/run events, as well as leech some of the possibility/responsibility to develop/shape the story based on player interaction with the situations the DMs have either generated or the players have put themselves in.
The idea is also that each Sector DM is charged with generation of activity in their allocated 'sectors' of Sirius, those borders are definitely up for discussion due to limitations on manpower, willing DMs, and those of sufficient trust/competence to not abuse it.
So, what's in a Sector DM's purview?
I'll break this section down into bullet-points to make it easier to digest.
- A Sector DM can influence events in specific sector of space, such as Liberty and Kusari, or Rheinland and Bretonia. The specific sectors depend on a number of factors, such as: Number of DMs, relevant faction interests in areas, overlapping systems of influence, etc.
- Sector DMs can run events in which NPC's can be spawned, rewards can be gained, and small narratives can be told for players who engage in them.
- Sector DMs can be used to liaison with official, unofficial factions and individuals to adjudicate on matters in Role-Play, such as if X, Y or Z is possible or doable, and to either resolve RP conflicts or provide a methods of resolution for them. - In such a circumstance that PvP is unsuitable.
- Sector DMs can be used to generate events and narratives which lead up to the eventually outcomes intended by the Developers of the story. Making them more organic in their realisation.
[*} Sector DMs can generate narratives and story in regions the Developers are currently not working on.
- Sector DMs can create minor narratives/story-lines which can have real lore consequences. For example, a Privateer based story-line that ends with an event of Privateers and the Molly's fighting over the Molly base in Exeter. On Privateer victory, they can destroy/capture the base, depending on options made available from prior RP with the DM. On Molly victory, they can retaliate leading to a another event. - The details of this would need a more in-depth discussion, due to its nature.
- I would personally suggest that Sector DMs, not exclusively, but make a bias to work with factions both official and non-official more than catering to individuals. This is both to avoid a lot of what personal RP requests are for, to not overburden the DMs and to encourage more faction activity outside logging to fight.
Ok, what are the problems with it?
Here I'll do the same, but I'll share my view on the pit-falls / problems that may or may not arise from the position.
- Limited scope of narrative influence. Part of what would make Sector DMs worth while to engage with, is the possible effect of doing so in the long term. An investment in engaging with Sector DMs for storylines and narratives can be fun in of themselves, but when the possible consequences can offer boons in lore, if what they can offer is too minor, their position becomes somewhat impotent.
- Too large a scope of narrative influence. The opposite of the above, giving too much power to influence the story can push their focus on larger and larger conflicts
with houses and miss the buildup to smaller events which still can have significant impact on other factions.
- Sector DMs would need to know the intended narrative of the upcoming story, to avoid creating inconsistencies.
- DM burn out is a real possibility. As they are likely going to need to keep track of multiple narratives, although discord can help with such organisation. Honesty with the factions they deal with can avoid a lot of excessive burdens on them, by others and themselves.
- RP done with a DM is likely to take more precedence with some people than RP done without, this can lead to some awkward or difficult situations, if improperly managed can turn sour. Although I am not sure this is unknown element to Disco.
Furthermore, I will likely edit for grammar/spelling mistakes I've made. Additionally, if there is anything important I've missed that pops in discussion I made add it to either of the lists to avoid repeated comments.
Lastly, OPEN THE DISCUSSION.