Storytelling for Dummies
No, we did not just insult you. Don't worry. Be happy. Storytelling is a "fun and rewarding experience for all," and when done properly, can really change a person for the better.
Some helpful hints
Be prepared. Once you've established what and where and when your chronicle is, find out everything you can about the location and time period. Make lots of notes about the plot points.
Be creative. If you come up with some lame-o plot that all of your characters can see through, figure out the mystery of, or destroy your major villain in five minutes, you really have to work a bit harder. Don't be afraid to make giant leaps...those are the kinds of plots that work best. (We had a chronicle about a Gangrel Methuselah in a pet shop. It took the players, not the characters, the players, more than a year to figure it out. Everyone liked it.) You can use simple plot ideas to propel amazingly complex stories. Don't be afraid to add twists and turns if people are figuring things out too fast.
Be open with your players . If you're not sure that something is going to work out, or if one of your players/characters starts acting up, you need to talk about it. This also encourages your players to come to you with problems that they might have. That way, if there is a problem that is seriously affecting one or more of your players, you can fix it before someone walks out.
Be firm in your judgements. If you make one judgement, and then change your mind, players will probably take that as a sign that they can convince you to back down on anything. That isn't saying not to ever correct a mistake, however. We have found that the best way to fix an honest mistake is to announce before everyone involved that, yes, you are mortal, you made a mistake. That way, it doesn't look like you are playing favorites, and it doesn't look like you changed your mind for any reason other than fairness.
Be stern when needed. Yes, at times you will have to be firm and give a flat out no. Sometimes you will have to veto an idea because it's stupid, or because it won't work with the story. You have to be willing to do this. If not, you could end up ruining your own chronicle through your lack of control.
Know when to lighten up. It's a game. It's not always a good thing to have some epic drama or tragic romance week after week. You don't need to resort to blowing stuff up to have a good time. Simply add a touch of the absurd. It lightens the mood when things are getting too grim, and it also reminds people that it is just a game. (We had a Nosferatu primogen with the infamous albino alligators, we put the Tremere primogen in a battery (Energizer!) and then gave the battery to the Malkavain primogen. That Gangrel Methuselah in the pet shop was in the dreaded "Penguin-Form." If added properly, the players will accept these developments as normal occurances.)
Be willing to spend time with your players. Sometimes some player might need help with his/her/its character. They might not understand what's going on at all with this new subplot of yours and need a few hints. Whatever the reason, you will need to spend non-game time with your players eventually, and if you can try and accomodate them as soon as they tell you they have a problem, things will go much more smoothly.
Get to know your players. Some players may not want to go to you when they need help. Some may be too shy to announce when they are offended or hurt. If you get to know your players, not only will you be able to tell what is liable to piss them off, you will also be able to judge by their reactions when something is not working.
Be willing to make a fool of yourself. It's okay if you're kinda shy, or you don't like talking in front of groups. If imagining people naked doesn't work for you, take into consideration, these people are wasting their time, usually on a Friday or Saturday night, to dress up and pretend to be vampires. Of course, since most Storytellers start off as players, you might have lost your self-consciousness when you were starting out as one of those loser who dress up and pretend to be undead. Also, when you ditch the fear of embarassment, you open yourself up to the idea of taking chances with the plot. Surreal plot ideas are always good.
Accept that not everything is going to work out. You are going to have some storylines that just flop, and that's okay. No one can make everyone love all of his/her/its storylines. As long as you keep the players happy, it's okay if you bomb a couple of times. If a lot of your ideas seem to be falling flat, another option is to ask some of the players you feel comfortable around what their suggestions are. Don't have a big meeting and invite the whole troupe, unless you are really secure in your status or the chronicle is falling down around your ears. Something like that will make it fairly obvious to the players that you are not in complete control of the situation. That leads to fire, flood, panic and rioting in the streets. Just ask some of your friends what they want to see happen.
Go with the flow. So some idiot tries to kill all the other characters. Some moron just doesn't see what you have plainly spelled out for him. No one is going to do exactly what you want. If they did, no one would play, because they'd all be a bunch of drones, and it would be more efficient to put them to hard labor for 24/7. Be willing to change plots around to suit what happens. Guide your players by the hand to the conclusions you want them to reach.
Realize that some players come for the fun, not the plot. Some players may be too shy to speak up, but some others are perfectly happy hanging out at the fringes of the plot and not getting too involved. What you can do to tell the difference is very simple: ask the player. If they say that they want to do something, but feel to shy, you can help them out by giving them the major plot hooks. If they tell you that they're there simply for the role-playing experience and don't care about the plot one way or another, you don't have to worry.
You are the Storyteller. Your word is law. Don't abuse your power, but if people goof off, or act in a manner that does not lead to a "fun and rewarding experience for all," you have the right to tell them to go to hell. You do. If they are going to wreck your game, or if they will not get the picture and ignore what you say (thus becoming likely to wreck the game), feel free to ask them to leave. We had to do this. It is rarely pleasant to have to enforce your authority, but sometimes it must be done.
Realize that goofing off once doesn't make someone a horrible person/player. We went over how you can make mistakes. Your players can, too. If someone is in a bad mood one night, and doesn't follow your orders to the letter, don't blow up and kick them out. If it becomes an obvious problem that happens again and again, you will need to talk to them, but don't kick them out because their boyfriend dumped them or their goldfish died and they wanted someone to take it out on.
Try and leave your feelings at the door. The hardest rule, but the most important. If you come in and start making everybody miserable, you are wrecking your own chronicle. If you really like somebody who is a horrible player, don't continually reward them simply because they are the object of your affection. Vice versa, if you despise someone, don't keep knocking them down whenever it looks like they will succeed. Other people will notice you playing favorites. This will lead to the rioting in the streets we warned you about before.
Go buy a book on improving your vocabulary. A Storyteller needs superb (and we really mean this) vocabulary to properly convey all the different facets of a scene. The better you describe it, the better they will understand it, and the better they will react to it.
Are we boring you? Sorry, but each of these thing almost became a major problem for us, and we feel the need to warn others. Some of these may not be a problem for you, and you may have problems that we didn't. (If you have a point we didn't make here, email us, and if it's valid, we'll add it to the list.) We hope we didn't scare you off of Storytelling, but it is only fair that we warn you in advance that Storytelling is a major challenge, even when it is just a group of friends hanging out and amusing themselves after school. (Imagine running one of our games, with an average of thirty people, half of whom we barely know. With eight clans, the Camarilla faction, the Sabbat faction and the Anarchs, plus random Garou and Kithian that pop up every once in a while. Are we bragging? Never. We're good little boys--and a girl--and we just want you to appreciate us properly.)
If you're tired of us babbling on and on, you can go home now
