Society for Aesthetic Deletions

[damn, another one snuck up on me! This is the second to last one now...]

Is there any addiction to the feedback gaming provides in the weaving of stories? Unlike traditional tales, gaming allows the input of the players and GM into going ìother places,î depending on the interests and desires of those involved...but can that lead to feeding the audience too much of what it likes and not enough challenge? Where in that scale do you measure?

Interesting question. I'm not quite sure how to respond...

Addiction of gaming? Yes. To the feedback...the immediacy, as I said in other posts for Game WISH? Perhaps.

Here's an example, I think.

In our Sunday game (D&D 3E), Lou has set the world and let us explore it. We have a TON of items on our plate, and are just getting to resolving some of them.

One of them included taking care of the ancient Red Dragon that one of our party members pissed off, trying to "threaten" it into staying off our back. It had been spying on us, we'd found out (using its half-breed children), and selling the information to the highest bidder. It told the PC that it would be coming for us, at some point. And also that it would kill the PC if he dared show up at the dragon's lair again.

Some of the players (and maybe the characters) wanted to deal with it. We made preparations, but we knew it was beyond our strength to deal with. So my character, not wanting to die (knowing she'd be the first one on the dragon's list once it knew she could cast Quench (no save, no spell resistance, 15d6 to fire-based creatures) on it (*hearts Quench*). She didn't want to die. *I* didn't want her to die.

So I kept putting that off. We'd get just about ready to fight it, then my character would suggest something else, and we'd go off and investigate that. Gaining levels, and magic items, and experience.

We finally fought the dragon last Sunday, because I couldn't think of anything else to use to stave off the fight.

This is a perfect example of catering to the audience, but keeping enough of a challenge for the players. Gauge what the players, and the characters, want to do, but offer them other opportunities. As long as there are other options, I don't think you'll ever be accused of pandering to the crowd.

Plus, as any good GM knows, the more you plan or push your players in one direction, the more likely they are to head in the other, no matter how much you cater directly to them.