What questions do you have about storytelling in an RPG?

[Machvelius]

Whether you're running a game of Pathfinder, another tabletop system, or even a LARP, there are storytelling hurdles that most GMs/DMs/storytellers experience in interactive fiction.

Are there any in particular that are bugging you?

Metaborn Games is working on a YouTube series that focuses on these storytelling questions and would love to here from Pathfinder players/GMs. You can talk about your issues here, or submit a question through our form.

(Mods, feel free to move this thread to whichever forum is most relevant. I chose this one since the discussion wasn't necessarily Pathfinder-specific.)

[Trekkie90909]

(hear from players/GMs)

I suppose the biggest hurdle for me is when one or more people, as part of an improvisational game take it someplace which doesn't interest me as the GM (not to troll or be disruptive, but simply because it's their interest, and not mine). I can usually keep things going for a while, but when a large chunk of my playerbase is interested in it, they'll keep gravitating back towards it even when I'm trying to steer things away, and so bit by bit I start losing interest in the campaign or the setting as a whole.

[Dire Elf]

I'm not a GM, but I've observed storytelling challenges in campaigns over 25 years as a player. The biggest storytelling hurdle I've seen is in homebrew campaigns when the GM has an overarching story in mind, but doesn't give the players enough information about it at the outset because he doesn't want to spoil it. Then the players end up going off in a direction that doesn't fit the GM's intent, and the GM has difficulty adapting his story to the new direction. Should the GM tell the players more about where he'd like the story to go before the campaign starts, or limit what types of characters they can play so he can make sure that they will fit his storytelling vision?

Players can also have storytelling challenges. For example, when the GM doesn't make sure the campaign has room for their characters' stories. If a player puts certain details into the character's backstory in the hope that they will be used during the campaign, but the GM never mentions those details, that can lead to a very disappointing roleplaying experience. It can also be difficult for a player to tell her character's story if she's constantly being overshadowed by louder and more aggressive players, or if the GM is so focused on running the adventure path that he doesn't leave room for character storytelling opportunities.