A first draft of the Game Play document. A final revision of this document will appear on the website in the next few weeks.

GAME PLAY

The Role of the Host

1. To create problems (i.e. situations, difficulties, encounters, emergencies, etc.) for the players to solve. I don’t build plots in the traditional sense. It may, at times, appear that you are playing in a plotline that has a set outcome, but don’t be fooled. I have no set outcomes. I don’t put them in. Every sim opens new doors, closes old ones, and moves the stories along. When the moment comes to close an action, the action closes. NPCs die. Governments react. Many, many, problems can happen on this sim at the exact same time. They do not need to be related, but they can be. Things can be picked up and put aside. My method is to throw a number of different things at the players, see what sticks, and go from there. There are always options, always doors to open.
2. To fashion viable NPCs. These characters provide the sim with villains, governmental officials, shop keepers, bar tenders, etc.
3. To determine when a player’s solution will or will not work. Just because the first idea didn’t work, doesn’t mean that you are locked into a strict plot. As I said earlier, there are no plots in the traditional sense. Why doesn’t an idea work? Because I’ve decided for the enjoyment of the whole game to make the problem, whatever it is, more difficult. A solution will work, guaranteed, but it might not be the first or even the second. Some problems are like a medical condition on House-- it’s never the first diagnosis, nor the second, but the third that finally saves a life.
4. To maintain the peace of the sim. Characters can quarrel, but we don’t want to see personal infighting spill into the sim. This is a game, and we must work to keep it one. If an in-game situation becomes too frustrating, or you are having trouble with a fellow player, come to me, and will see what can be done about it. We’ll mediate it outside of the sim, or try to come up with an in-sim solution that is satisfactory for all involved.
5. To facilitate player interaction. I will attempt to create problems that make it easier for players to work together. We want everyone to be as involved in each sim as possible. No one should have to sit on the sidelines sim after sim.

The Role of the Players

1. To solve the problems created by the host. Hosts should not solve the problems they create, players should. Hosts provide information, of course, but players ask all the questions, cleverly craft the solutions, and attempt responses and actions. Players, in my games, move along the story. Your actions, all of your actions, impact the sim. As you play your characters remember that you have the power to shape the world. PCs make things happen. Don’t be afraid to try to do things. They won’t always work. The phaser blast may not always kill the villain, the syringe may not always carry the poison that implicates the evil ambassador, and the Captain may not always look kindly on your initiative. Nevertheless, more often than not, what you try to do will work. You will be able to force the Exarch into a conversation, you will be able to identify the virus, and you will be able to engineer a way to hamper the terrorists who have taken over the Woven network. Whatever your PC is able to do, you can try to do.
2. Observe the limits of creativity. In every RPG there are limits to what PCs can do. Some RPGs have very strict limits, which forbid the players from creating anything outside of their own characters. Our sim is not like that. Players can make locations on the station, they can create certain NPCs (i.e. staff members, family, old friends, bar tenders, shopkeepers-- always following the rules inherent in player character creation-- no super powers, no deux ex NPCs who can swoop in to save the crew when all others fail, etc.), they can forward private plots, and can pretty much attempt to do any action that their PCs are physically and mentally capable of. Some things, however, will require consultation with the host. Players should not attempt, without first speaking with me, to create large problems for the sim. For example, players shouldn’t declare suddenly that Romulans are invading the station, or that a band of Zeralens have kidnapped the A’tu ambassador, or that the Klingons on Copan are hunting small Ferengi children. Players do not control Host NPCs, nor do they control governments, alien races, secret organizations, etc. If, as a player, you want to see something happen with a government, you’d like to see Klingons hunting Ferengi, or you feel that the Romulans haven’t gotten their share, please come and speak with me. We can work something out. Also, players do not control the actions or destiny of other players. Please consult with the other player if you wish to use their character for any reason. Finally, certain large scale technologies, especially those essential to the world, like the Gate, are not open to player tweaking. If a technology has not been explained, but should have been, please come forward and point it out to me. Smaller technologies, like a modified computer PADD, a secret Universal Translator, or a slightly adjusted phaser, are open for players to craft and tweak.
3. Trust the host. You don’t need to keep secrets from me because you feel that I will thwart your character’s actions. I will admit that sometimes actions will be thwarted, but that is done to drive the story, to increase the tension, and to raise the stakes. It is certainly never done because I don’t like you, don’t want you to have fun, or don’t think your ideas are worthy of merit. Talk to me. Build with me. If you feel that your PC isn’t getting enough action, or hasn’t had enough stage time, talk to me. If you feel that your character has been thwarted too many times, or that the sim world is crushing down on them, talk to me. If you think that you have no power, or haven’t been able to be creative, talk to me. I’m available, and I’m willing to listen.
4. Work with other players. While your PC might be a recluse at times, remember that most of you play Starfleet officers, and as such are expected to work well in a team. Try to include other players whenever possible in your solution making processes. This rule also calls you to respect other players, their wishes, and their work. We are a team here.
5. Obey the strictures of your chosen character. If you are a soldier, remember that that life comes with rules and consequences should those rules be broken. If you make a pudgy priest who has spent his whole life in a non-militant monastery, don’t have him able to win his way out of a fight with a trained warrior.

I will also refer you all to http://www.phineion.com/andromeda/playingsims.htm, which, while not complete, does provide more information and more examples about the issues discussed above.