My ongoing tinkering with the text for Hot War has sent my off down a couple of roads recently. One regards the section on Authority in the game. This is something Graham has been struggling with, although I'm not sure what direction Grahams thoughts go in at the moment. However, I was recently struck with the realisation that having that section on authority early on in the game text could be a little intimidating. It's not theory-heavy, but does get a little dry at point.

How to resolve this? Well, I was reading DitV again (another game of it coming up soon) and was struck by the effective simplicity of Chapter 6, which takes three pages and tells you exactly what everyone does at different stages in the game, what their responsibilities are and so on. In essence, it tells you exactly what you will be doing in the game.

The effective nature of this approach struck a chord with me and got me thinking: "This covers a lot of the same ground as the authority section, ye is so much more accessible". I canvassed some opinion and views were varied. Some thought the existing authority section was clear enough. Others preferred the new approach.

The question I'm asking here is: which is more useful to you? As someone coming new to the game, which would provide the better guidance for you? The text is below, because it is very lengthy. The section on authority comes below the section on guidance.

Cheers
Malcolm

The first session of playing Hot War is going to be taken up deciding what the tone of the game will be like, what the situation is going to be for the characters, who they might meet and some scenes that will come into future sessions. Then players will set about creating their characters. Finally, every player gets to set up a scene for their character that tells everyone in the group a little bit about their experiences. All of this might take a bit of time, so after it all, it's best to relax, maybe talk a little about all the stuff the group has created nad think about what the game has in store.

Everyone that is taking part in the game has different responsibilities and different things that they can do to make the game great for all the people involved. Here's a breadown of some of the things that everyone who is taking part in the game should be doing or thinking about:

In...Collaborative Game Creation

Players
Take part in the creation of the game situation
Help and support others
No one should dismiss peoples suggestions out of hand
Discuss peoples suggestions
Look through this book if there's something that needs clarification
Read the Players Primer, it's useful!
Each player should be ready to contribute scene ideas by describing photographs

GM
Give some background to the world but also let the players have the Players Primer, this book and other materials
Help and support others, don't dismiss suggestions out of hand
Note down all the stuff that is suggested and accepted
Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute and remember to contribute ideas yourself

In...Character Creation

Players
Create suitable, engaging characters that they want to play
Help other people create characters that they want to play
Contribute to the tapestry of the game with snippets about the character, the environment, their traits, agendas and relationships.
Come up with a scene about the characters experiences during the War
Establish facts about the War through experience scenes
Take the role of NPCs in experience scenes
Start to learn about how the conflcit resolution system functions in play

Characters
Will be involved in a scene which says something about their experiences during the War

GM
Present information about the environment and situation that will help players to create their characters
Give guidance on what is and isn't allowed in terms of traits, agendas and relationships
Contribute to the creation of characters by helping players with queries and giving suggestions
Show how the GM takes the role of adversity during the experience scenes

Non-player Characters
Support or oppose the actions of the players characters in experience scenes

In...The Long Term

Players
Use hidden agendas and work towards resolving them
Suppot the goals of other players
Assist the GM by giving ideas for scenes, people and events

Characters
Work towards resolving their hidden agendas
Build relationships with other PCs and NPCs
Evolve as a person, change and grow

GM
Create and present scenes and situations to the players
Develop and expand upon the game's setting, taking into the accont the contributions of the players
Identify what the players want from the game, through their actions and through their characters. Take this information on board and use it in the game
Create NPC information for use in conflicts

Non-player Characters
Support, oppose and engage with the the characters

In...Individual Sessions

Players
Play the the characters!
Respond to and encourage the play of others
Help drive the play towards meaningful conflicts
Use narration when successful in conflicts, but be aware of the limitations of narration
The GM gets to reveal the secrets of NPCs, but you can ask for them
Don't make the situation intentionally ridiculous by bringing in inappropriate stuff
Use the various facets of the characters to best effect
Accept changes to the character through consequences

Characters
Try to meet the challenges that have been set them
Try to survive in this horrible world

GM
Provide adversity in the form of challenging NPCs
Reveal information when it is asked for through narration
Don't block the reveal if the conflict went against the NPC
Follow the lead of players about what's important in the game
Use narration when successful in conflicts, but be aware of the limitations of narration
Don't tell the players how their characters feel
Don't take important character decisions out of the hands of the players

Non-player Characters
Will all want something from the PCs
Give information about the world
Allow the establishment of relationships, both positive and negative

In...Crisis Points and Hidden Agenda Resolutions

Players
Frame a scene that says what you wnat about the situation the character finds themselves in
Let the scene focus on the character who has hit a crisis point or who is resolving a hidden agenda
Contribute to the scene, but allow the player who framed it to have authority over what is happening

Characters

GM

Non-player Characters
Will be there to support the story of the main character

Authority: Who Says What? And When?

Authority is a general term for who gets to add what to the overall story being told, what they get to say and about whom they are allowed to say it. In many games, it’s immediately obvious who gets to say what: the GM has authority of plot, background and so forth, while the players have authority over the actions of their own characters. However, it can be very useful (especially when dealing with Open and Closed games) to look at how authority can be broken down and how it can be used to create a better and more satisfying game where everyone round the table knows the limits of what they can and can not bring in to the game. In broad terms, you can break authority round the game table down into the following areas and meanings:

Content authority
This is more commonly known as back story and includes all those little bits of information about characters in the game as well as the world itself. In Hot War this is mainly the domain of the GM. For example, the GM may decide that a particular NPC the characters have encountered is, in fact, a traitor working for a Soviet Spetznaz cell. This is content authority.

Plot authority
This relates to revealing content (note, this is not the same as content authority!) around the table and during the game. It deals with making revelations or revealing snippets of information. For example, the characters finding an Navy dossier that reveals to them the location of a previously unknown Soviet submarine, sunk in the Thames Estuary, would be plot authority..

Narrational authority
In Hot War, narration rights come from victory in a conflict, so we can see that narrational authority relates to the outcome of conflicts and shouldn’t be mistaken for any of the other kinds of authority. An example would be Debbie, playing the character of Myles, winning a conflict and narrating how her character successfully tails a suspected traitor through the streets of Clerkenwell.

Situational authority
This is who is doing what, and where. The GM creating a scene and then asking the players the position of their characters within it and what exactly they are doing as the scene opens, is an example of distributed situational authority.

In a game of Hot War, it is important to know who has what authority and what it means. In a game of Hot War, it is the case that the GM has exclusive control of content and plot authority. Whereas everyone participating in the game (including the GM) has narrational (as determined by the outcome of conflicts) and situational authority. Let’s look at some examples:

Examples:

Successful distribution of authority and agreement on who has what authority can lead to a much more fruitful and successful game. When the participants around the table are not aware of what authority they have, there can be confusion in the game. For example, if the group are unaware of where content authority lies, a player may, in the course of narrating the outcome of a conflict say something like “…and I also discover that he is a Union Movement stooge!”. The GM may not have intended that the NPC be an informer and stooge for the Union Movement, indeed, this might derail plans the GM had for that NPC. However, if during a pre-game discussion, it is made explicit that the GM has Content authority over such revelations, but the players can use Plot authority in conflict stakes, then it can avoid just such a situation.