Flag Framing

Sparked by the Flags discussion at Andy's Story-games forum, and

(hopefully) better restatement of what I wrote on rpg.net a few years back.

What is it?

This is a method I've used to help myself improvise and scene frame, initially
an outgrowth of techniques from my Feng Shui days to now. It works with
most traditional games and replaces the need to pre-plan events and scenes
(whether linear or branching) and cuts down prep time by a LOT.

The Basic Idea

Traditionally improvisation has been considered an advanced technique.

Mostly because all the advice we've seen is about preparing adventures
either like a videogame level (map, NPCs, monsters go here), or else
preparing a set of events, either linear or branching and then trying to
engineer the player characters into the events.

The players show up every week with just a character sheet and seem to
improvise just fine. "But wait! Players only have to deal with just one
character! They don't have to figure out what will happen!"

But that's not the key difference in play. The difference is that the players
have prepared a tool for improvisation -the character. With the character, the
players don't need to prep a list of possible events and responses, they
simply use the character as a focus to improvise with. They can make up on
the spot how a "hot-headed young knight out for glory" ought to act without
thinking too hard.

What the GM needs is to prep tools that do the same thing. Instead of trying
to guess what might happen, what the players might do, what they might
find interesting, you can instead prep tools that react to what IS happening,
what the players SHOW you they want to do.

The GM's role really boils down to helping make interesting stuff happen. This
breaks out into framing engaging scenes (and conflicts) and presenting neat
NPCs. So let's talk about how to make that happen...

Focus

The Focus is the basic idea or situation of what the game is going to be
about. Everyone in the group ought to know what this is- "A fight for the
throne!", "Destroy the One Ring", "The Battle of Troy", whatever. The Focus
can be created as a group, though one person can take the lead if the group
doesn't really have direction.

The players need to know the Focus to make appropriate characters and
know what kind of conflicts to expect in the game. You, the GM, need them
to know this because you're going to play off of what they do with it.

Character Creation

The players build their characters together, building with the Focus in mind,
and also looking to build characters that play off of each other. If the players
build their characters separately, you might end up with the usual RPG
motley crew- "A rabbi, a monkey, and a half-elf necromancer walk into a
bar..." (aside from octaNe, I can't think of any games that this would be a
good sign for the campaign...)

Flags

Flags are mechanics that the players can use to indicate what they find
interesting in the game and what they want the game to be about. Some
games make this overt- such as Riddle of Steel, Burning Wheel, Sorcerer,
Shadow of Yesterday etc. They put up beliefs, ideals, or conflicts in a big
way, saying to the GM, "Hey, do this! Make the game about THIS!" Flags are
a way for the player to tell the GM what they think is interesting and
important.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE FLAGS. WRITE THEM DOWN.

"What about games that don't have obvious flagging mechanics?"- Most
traditional games lack overt flagging mechanics, at which point you have to
play detective. Look at the things the player does to create the character in
terms of taking goals, vows, background traits, advantages, disadvantages,
relationships, contacts, abilities, back story, etc. If the player is playing a
priest, but takes "Hated Enemy- The Bishop", there's probably something
interesting going on there. But don't just stop there, mention it- "Hey, it
seems like this guy's thing is about THIS, what's your take on it?" And let the
player spill their guts. Note it down and figure out what the big conflict, issue
or ideals are behind that.

Making NPCs

Now, that the players are set up, you set up your characters. You know what
the players want the game to be about, so the NPCs are just tools to make
that happen. The NPCs exist SOLELY to produce scenes and conflicts that hit
what the players have asked for via Flags.

Look at the Focus, build characters who fit in with that, and either oppose,
support, or make things complicated for as many Flags as possible. For
example, if two Flags involve "Loyalty to Family" and "Always do what is
right", it's easy to produce a family member who is corrupt. Notice that two
different PC's can have these flags, and it still will be interesting.

Any NPCs of importance want one of three things:

1) Help from the PCs
2) Oppose the PCs
3) Use the PCs

WRITE DOWN WHAT THE NPCs WANT/NEED. WRITE DOWN GENERAL

PERSONALITY TRAITS THAT WILL HELP YOU ROLEPLAY THEM.

Good conflict happens when someone is:

1) Desperate
2) Overreacting
3) Violent
4) Irresponsible
5) Immoral
6) Irrational/Fanatical
7) Hiding Something
8) Jealous
9) Any/all of the above.

Basically, someone's willing to do something crazy and fuck someone over.

You don't even need a lot of characters like this- even one will do, provided
he or she sets the rest of the characters off in a chain reaction.

The NPCs should be set up in a web of problems- some allied, some against
each other, for a variety of reasons. For short term play, you want between
1-3 problems depending on how likely the players are to buy into the conflict.
For most games, I'd recommend around 3-4 separate problems tangled
together. In all likelihood, the players are going to latch onto one or more of
them as interesting, and in the event you toss out a dud or two, you still
have something to work with.

No NPCs should be isolated, you want to be able to follow a chain of

connections between them (which can be blood, sex, friendship, opposition,
duty, etc.)

YOU WILL WANT BETWEEN 3-12 NPCS DEPENDING ON HOW LARGE OF A

SITUATION YOU ARE BUILDING.

Nameless minions

A lot of characters will have secondary allies, servants, minions, friends,

gangs, etc. These folks basically exist to serve main NPCs, you might have to
stat them up for the system, but you don't need to give them motivations or
consider them independently. Only do the above process for characters likely
to make their own decisions.
Your Conflict Sheet

Take a sheet of paper, down the left side, write down the names of the PC's
and their Flags, relationships, etc. Down the right side, write down the NPCs
and their needs/wants, flags, relationships, etc. Also include a little bit of
personality bits to have in mind. The players use their characters to help
them improvise during play, you will use your Conflict Sheet.

Those of you experienced in this kind of play will recognize that this serves
exactly the same purpose as Sorcerer's Relationship Maps or Dogs in the
Vineyard's Towns.

Scene Framing

Throw a problem in the players' faces

Frame a scene with one or more NPCs that sets up a conflict or problem. This
shouldn't be hard- ALL of the NPCS on your list either want help, oppose, or
want to use the PCs, so you ought to have plenty of ammo at your disposal.
The players will react, and whatever happens, you react in return. How
should you react? Roleplay your characters! It's just like what the players are
doing!

When the scene slows down, cut away

Don't let the scene die out. Cut it. You want the excitement to carry over into
the next scene, instead of having to build it back up again. "Excitement" here
doesn't have to be crazy action, good roleplaying produces excitement,
tender moments produce excitement, etc.

Next!

Now, introduce a new situation and a new NPC. You're going to introduce the
whole cast, sooner or later. They don't all need to be conflict based scenes,
but you want to keep dropping tidbits of the NPCs Flags and keep hitting the
PCs Flags at the same time. Remember, every NPC wants something from
the PCs. And at least some of them are going to take drastic measures! And
some of the other NPCS are going to react to that as well! When the players
react, you react with your characters. Other characters are likely to take
actions, and then you can frame new scenes.

Using the List

Between Scenes, look down both sets of Flags and figure out which
characters are going to fit together in exciting ways. "Exciting" meaning
trouble. Put characters together who are likely to oppose each other. Put
characters together who ought to be on the same side, but will hate each
other's guts. Put characters together who will misunderstand and overreact.

It's not hard to think of worse-case-scenarios, and make them happen. As

both the players react and you react in return, it's easy to figure what kind of
conflicts happen next, based on playing your NPCs and hitting the players'
Flags.

The Classics

If things slow down, remember, you can always have an NPC:

- Get Violent
- Reveal a Secret
- Betrayal!
- Be an Asshole

These 4 things alone or in combination, always make for interesting times.

Reacting to the Players

Watch the players! Traditionally the players have looked to the GM to pick up
cues as to what they should do next. NO! You watch the players to see what
you ought to do next. When the players are excited, you're doing good.
When the players are bored, you're doing bad! There's no prepped events to
distract you, there's no preplanned story for you to remember- just look
around the table and pay attention in the game.

What you're doing is using the Conflict Sheet to crib note what the players
want to see and things you think would be interesting. If you throw out a
scene, situation, and conflict that the players ignore, don't sweat it. In fact,
maybe you should note or cross it out on the Conflict Sheet, and circle the
ones they do find interesting. The players might actually be interested in
something that ISN'T on their Flags, so note it for yourself. Change the NPCs
Flags in response to the actions of the PCs, perhaps enemies have become
friends and friends enemies?

The Conflict Sheet is a draft in progress- not set in stone. Between sessions,
you will make changes, but pretty much it'll just be cleaning up or rewriting
what is there based on what has happened in play.

Between Sessions

Remove NPCs who no longer are part of the situation, change NPC Flags and
attitudes according to the events in play, add another 1-3 NPCs if things are
looking sparse but you want to keep going with the situation. Or, you can let
the situation keep going until it feels "done". Then make a new one. Making a
new one is easier than making an initial set of NPCs, because you'll have a
good feel for the PCs Flags.
How much work is this?

So, players generate characters- that's not much different than most games.
Initial set up requires thinking up good sets of NPCs that hit the PCs Flags. At
the least, you can make a bunch of NPCs opposed to the PCs Flags. Me
personally? It's usually taken between an hour to a few hours, depending on
the number of NPCs being made and how crunchy the system for character
generation is.

But- between sessions? Usually 10 minutes or less. The initial setup is heavy
(about as heavy as making characters) but after that, it's a breeze. You don't
have to generate new events for each session- you've got a tool to
improvise.

What does this work for?

This technique works good for Narrativist style play, though I think it'd work
just as well for Sim play as well. The only thing it doesn't do good is Gamist
play, mostly because Gamism isn't really concerned with these sorts of
things.

The Short Version

1) Pick a Focus
2) Players make Characters
3) What are the Flags?
4) Make NPCs to hit the Flags.
5) Write down the PCs & their Flags, write down the NPCs and their Flags.
6) Look at the list- put characters together who will make drama.
7) Cut Scenes, Get Violent, Reveal a Secret, Betrayal, Be an Asshole
8) WATCH THE PLAYERS!

Conclusion

I use this for a LOT of games, mostly stuff like Riddle of Steel and Burning
Wheel, though pretty much it's what I'll also use for traditional games if I run
those as well. It began when I realized that I was running Feng Shui by just
running the NPCs as I would PCs, and things worked just fine. Add in a few
years of exposure to stuff like Sorcerer, Riddle of Steel, etc., and here we
are.

I hope you find it useful for your games, and let me know how it works for
you.

The Conflict Web

Yesterday I told you how to make Scene Frame on the fly, with an easy tool.
Here's another prep tool to make scenarios full of conflict for your games.
This is part brainstorming and part R-map.

How Big?

The first question is how big the conflict is going to be. "Big", not measured
by the number of characters, but by the number of potential "sides" and
subconflicts that might emerge. If you have armies of millions at war, but
there's only 2 sides and no betrayals or secondary motivations- it's a very
simple conflict (GI Joe). If you have 3 people with multiple motivations,
betrayals and layers, it can be terribly messy (House of Flying Daggers).

You don't need to nail down an exact number of potential sides, but you want
a good idea before you get to work, so that you don't end up making an
intense multilayered George R.R. Martin level of conflict for a one-shot.

A magic number to go with is 3 sides. 3 sides is enough to make things

interesting, but not so many people get confused.

Building the Web

Start with any 2 characters in conflict over something. They haven't taken
action- yet, but at least one of them will, and the other will have to respond.
Write down their names on a sheet of paper, draw a line connecting the two.
Put a triangle through the center of the line. The problem cannot end
between the two- it has to drag in other people and affect others.

Now, add a character who has a tie to either one or both of the characters on
the sheet. Attach a line connecting the characters, and add a symbol based
on the following:

Triangle = Antagonistic
Circle = Friendly
Square = Duty/Power/Obligation

Complications

Now, keep adding characters connected to other characters, and sub-

situations to explain their relationships, particularly looking to stress other
relationships. For example, if Amy and Beth hate each other, and Clarissa is
friends with them both, that stresses Clarissa's relationships (and makes
good drama).

Feel free to add lines between any characters on the sheet if it would make
sense for them to be connected. This is a great place to set up sub-conflicts
and crazy love triangles.
If you are prepping for a one-shot or so, you probably want to stop anywhere
from 3-6 characters. If you are planning on doing a short run, 5-8 characters
is usually good. If you are planning on doing something long, 8-20 characters
is usually sufficient (you can always add more later...).

Rule of Two Supporters

For any character who is a figurehead to a particular "side", give him or her
two supporters who provide different aspects of that particular side. This is
an excellent place to put in extreme views of a particular issue, or
contrasting takes on it.

For example, if a new religious leader is trying to gain legitimacy for his
movement, one of the followers might be an altruistic progressive sort, who
just wants to help society, while another might be an extremist with a chip
on his shoulder...

This lets you address the same issue from a few different angles, as well as
build sub-conflicts within any side, or even alliances from different sides from
the supporters...

How do you use this?

This gives a simple visual cue for motivations and relationships between
various characters. It also is a great brainstorming device. All the characters
end up connected, not a random assortment of disconnected characters who
have nothing in common, plus it makes building sub-conflicts a snap. Take
the ideas you get from it, and apply it towards building a Conflict Sheet for
Flag Framing, or whatever method suits your fancy.

In play, this doesn't see as much use from me, mostly because it charts
highly changable relationships, and becomes a logistical hassle to try to
upkeep during play itself. It might inspire potential reactions or motivations,
but I tend to use it more to prep play and occasionally muse on things
between sessions. Sorcerer's R-maps, which track non-changing relationships
are a better tool for in play usage.

Advanced Web building

What happens if two characters have different feelings for one another? If
you want to get more complicated, you can put two symbols on each line,
the one closest to the character's name representing how they feel about the
other character.

For example, if Alvin looks up to his father Bill, but Bill only takes care of
Alvin out of social pressure, you'd have a Circle next to Alvin, and a Square
next to Bill on that line. Ouch! There's bound to be problems somewhere in
that relationship, and it's easy to create conflicts based on that kind of stuff.
Example

This may not be the BEST example, but I used this technique to write up the
characters in the HeroQuest scenario, Well of Souls, which I wrote with Peter
Nordstrand a couple of years ago.

A Standard Shape

Have 3 sides, give each side 2 followers. Some of the followers will be allied,
some will be against each other- regardless of the sides they actually hold.
This gives you 9 characters, and a couple of sub-conflicts.

Strong Points

This technique is specifically designed to create the crazy multilayered

relationships you see in epics like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Heroes of
the Watershed/All Men are Brothers, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, Njal's
Saga, and more modern fiction like Artesia or A Game of Thrones. I've found
that it works really well for HeroQuest games, Riddle of Steel, and similar
games where politics might play a large role.

Hopefully you will find this useful to generate scenarios, conflicts, and NPCs
for your games. I've been using it for a couple of years, and it's worked
really well for me. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
GM Improvisation 101
December 31, 2013

Realizing that a lot of the questions I see coming up over and over are on
“How do I improvise?” so I figured I should just put it into one place to link
people.

Less hard than you think

A lot of times when I hear gamers talk about improvising, it’s spoken of like
it’s this super amazing skill that is rare and difficult – like Bruce Lee’s 1 inch
punch or something.  But here’s the thing: it’s only difficult because most rpg
advice for GMs is the exact opposite of improvisation.

Let’s break that down.

The two most common methods of GM prep are either: “Make a map and fill
it with encounters and puzzles” or “Make a set of events/scenes, either a
linear set or a branching path set and have the PCs ‘go through it’.”.

Notice that both of these methods require that you “make” something ahead
of time, guessing at what will be fun, challenging, and appropriate.   When
the PCs deal with the things you made, they’re then “used up”, you don’t get
to reuse them, it’s done.

I used to call this stuff “ammo” – you make it, shoot it, and it’s gone.

Now let’s do a comparison: every week the players show up and all they
have in front of them is their character sheet.  They don’t plan out every
possible thing they might have to do in the week’s adventure, they just do it.
They use the idea of their character to direct how they’re going to improvise.

What if you did the same – made simple tools you could reference and
improvise as a GM?

A Source of Problems > A Set of Problems

What the prepared GMing styles teach you is to create a set of problems –
it’s a set of encounters, scenes, questions/replies, clues, etc. but they get
used up.   What you want instead is a source of problems, something that
easy to improvise ideas with.

If you were playing a Batman game, could you take 5 minutes and simply
make up a dastardly plan for the Joker?   Sure.  You get what kind of
problems the Joker creates.  You can probably make up Joker action and
reactions on the spot.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s easy enough to
come up with something.
So what you’re looking for is situations and characters that make it easy for
you to come up with twists and problems rather than having to do a lot of
prep.  You prep just enough detail on the SOURCES of problems, so you can
adapt in play, easily.

NPCs with Motivations

A very easy solution is to have NPCs whose goals and personalities naturally
clash with those of the PCs.  You don’t have to figure out each event or scene
– you just look down your list of NPCs, play them as characters, just as much
as players play their characters, and events happen.   You pick which NPCs to
focus on based on what seems the most interesting.

Also notice that the NPCs’ motivations do not need to be static – they may
change their minds, switch sides, or otherwise change up what they’re
interested in – you can have an enemy turn into an ally, an ally turn into an
enemy and not totally break the game.

Useful reading:

Making Good Flags (PC’s motivations)

Conflict Webs (NPC’s motivations)

7 Types of Antagonists (NPC archetypes)

Logistics as a Source of Problems

The other part of it is sometimes nature, or the situation produces a source

of problems.  Having the refugees of your village lost at sea and running out
of supplies is a source of problems, even if everyone is trying to work
together.   Instead of necessarily prepping tons of individual events, you can
have a larger situation that easily suggests a lot of potential problems.

Useful reading:

Logistics & Politics (the small amount of prep for logistics issues)

Magical Cause & Effect (logistics and problems tying into magic, or
mythological ideas)

Big List of Combat Stakes (likely combat situations that comes out of these
things, also provides it’s own form of mini-logistical issues).

Easier Math
Now, with all that said, there’s still things to be said about the point of the
game system you’re using.  Improvising is easier when the rules make it
very easy to do math on the fly.    (Suggestions: The Pool, Inspectres, Lady
Blackbird)

While many rpgs at this point make that easier for things like skill or
attribute checks, few are as easy for combat encounters – partially because
they often deal with a lot of different variables, but also because many rpgs
are built around funky math for balancing an encounter.

When you have this kind of situation, it’s better if the game gives you a lot of
pregenerated monsters/enemy types so you don’t have to build things from
scratch – this is effectively what the classic D&D Monster Manual was about –
you can simply flip to the right page, pull up the stats and go.

Follow the Players

Games where you’ve tried to prepare everything ahead are much harder to
make a fun and entertaining game, in my experience.  You’re trying to guess
what your players will do, what they’ll find fun, and how to make it work
before it happens.  You’re not just exercising mind reading, but also
divination of the future…

Games where you improvise on the spot, you simply pay attention to what
gets the players excited – you let them show you what they’re interested in
and you give them more of that.  You don’t read their minds, you pay
attention to what they show you.

The link of making Good Flags is a good one to read for a technique to help
you, but the real key is paying attention to the people at the table.  Are they
engaged?  Are they asking questions and all excited?  Are they clenching
their fists in anxiety?  Are they trying their damnedest to win a conflict?  Pay
attention to these things.  You can see if you’re getting hotter or colder when
you play.

Pacing – Go to the fun

Years ago, I wrote, “Fun Now” as a motto- figure out what is fun for your
group, go for it and don’t waste too much time getting to it.  I’ve also stated
it as “find out what is interesting for your group” and it says a lot about the
levels of broken gamer culture that I would always get someone asking “How
do I know what is interesting?”

Anyway, the nice thing about rpgs is that you can literally skip the unfun
parts at anytime you want.  ”3 months later, you’ve braved the terrible sea
voyage and you’ve made your way to the Capital.” , “It’s almost dawn by the
time you get out of the Tombs of Sarkoth, you’re exhausted, hurt, but alive.”
etc.

Tied into this is the idea brought forth in the rpg Dogs in the Vineyard – “Say
Yes or Roll the Dice”.  If you already know the outcome of a situation – just
Say Yes and skip over it.  If there’s no possible interesting failure or
consequences – Say Yes and skip over it.

Finding out what the players find fun, focusing as much play on it as
possible, that’s how you get the most out of your improvisation and gaming.
Making Good Flags
November 19, 2013

Years back, I coined the term “Flags” to talk about game mechanics which explicit
aspects of a character designed for players to tell the GM what kind of stories and
conflicts they want for their characters.  As this is becoming more and more common in
games, I figured it might be a good idea to put down some ideas of what makes a good
Flag (and good conflict) for players.

Examples of Flag Mechanics:  Primetime Adventures (Issues), Shadow of Yesterday

(Keys), Riddle of Steel (Spiritual Attributes), Burning Wheel, Mouse Guard, Torchbearer
(Beliefs), Lady Blackbird (Keys), D&D 4E (Quest Cards), Tenra Bansho Zero (Fates),
Hero’s Banner (Passions)

Types of Flags

1. Goals

An easy Flag to always put down is a goal for your character.  Usually this works best if
the GM has set up a situation (“There’s a struggle for the throne”) that you can start to
take angles on and build your character around (“I want the younger brother to take
power”).

Goal-based Flags can produce two very different kinds of conflicts.  The simplest is raw
challenge – the GM throws a number of challenges and obstacles to be
overcome/outwitted on the way to achieving the goal.  The second kind of conflict is one
of choice: how far will you go? How much will you sacrifice?  Will you give up ideals?
Will you sacrifice relationships?  Will you give up other goals?

Examples: “I want to get revenge for my dead family”, “I will remake this city into a
place where people can live in peace”, “I will find the secret of the magic of
resurrection”, “I’ll make sure my son safely reaches Eridan IV.” ,  “I will destroy the
system I once served, as atonement for my crimes”

(Notice that motivation is part of the goal – why your character wants to do something
and what it says about them is just as interesting!)

2. Relationships

Relationships as Flags are great, but they should be used with consideration.  At the
simplest, a relationship can be threatened by potentially cutting off the characters from
contact – imprisonment, kidnapping, or death.  But just as often, a relationship is
threatened by losing trust, building resentment, misunderstandings, overreactions and
more.
Or, if the relationship is negative to begin with (“I’m sure my stepfather is trying to kill
me…”), then how you deal with that relationship in the face of social or legal pressure
that makes it something you can’t simply walk away from or end without a lot of trouble.

Relationships as Flags basically means conflicts of having bad things happen to the
people you care about, struggling to maintain the good will, or else having ties to bad
people.

There should be an angle on any given relationship – an idea of what’s going on with it
and what causes the stress or threat.

Examples: “I swore to my best friend to protect his little brother”, “I’m afraid my
husband is slipping too far into cyberspace and may not come back”, “I have to earn my
teacher’s respect”, “I must make sure my parents never find out the truth.”, “My ex-
friend is out to get me.” 

3. Ideals

Ideals are about principles, beliefs, or values the character holds to.   These types of Flags
tend to overlap a bit with Goals – any generalized Ideal tends to push a character towards
action – if you have “Protect the Weak” you’re going to find yourself doing a lot of
protecting.   Just like Goals, these can be aimed at the raw difficulty of the task or
weighed against other things, forcing you to make hard choices.

Examples: “The pride of the Lao Clan must never be tarnished”, “My word is my
bond.”, “Insults must always be repaid in kind.”, “Always help those in need.”, “The
folks across the river must never be trusted”

4. Self Doubt or Fear

Self doubt is a great Flag tool and a point of character development.  It also tends to be
double layered – you can have a Flag about what your character fears (correctly or
incorrectly) and/or a Flag about what the character subconsciously acts on, but hasn’t
consciously acknowledged yet.

Example: “I’m not sure I’ll be able to stand strong when the raiders come.”, “If I use my
power, I’m not sure what I will become…”, “I don’t want everyone to find out that I
really don’t know what I’m doing…”, “Will I be up to the task when the King calls on
me?”

Torn between options

You can mix the above Flag types together to create some fun, and interesting
combinations where the problem is essentially a choice between priorities.
Relationship vs. Ideal – “Loyalty to the family above all else… but will that include my
honor?”

Goal vs. Fear – “I will see him dead – but who will I be at the end of this?”

Relationship vs. Self Doubt – “I must make my mentor proud of me… but am I up to the
task?”

Using Flags Better

Buy In as a player

Flags are your way of saying “This is what I want the game to be about!” – so make sure
that’s actually what you want the game to be about.

If you pick something that doesn’t make you excited, then guess what you’re going to
get?  Likewise, also realize that the Flags you choose are places where real conflict will
happen – the outcome is not certain.  If there’s an aspect about your character that is NOT
up for grabs, don’t make it a Flag (or, at least, clearly define what part of it IS in the air
and which isn’t when you make it…)

Adjusting Flags

In every game I’ve played, usually within a session or two, people will want to adjust or
change their Flags.  Your initial Flags were what you THOUGHT was going to be
interesting, but once you start playing you find out exactly what you REALLY find
interesting.   So, some of your Flags may get adjusted in wording, to refine the types of
conflicts you want to see, or they may get tossed altogether and replaced with something
you find more interesting.

It’s important to do this because it helps the group as a whole redirect their play better.

Flags as a tool for character growth

An advanced trick is to take Flags that are simple minded or just plain wrong, with the
idea of making an arc of your character growing beyond them.

Examples: “Always trust my brother’s word.”, “The law is the law, no exceptions.”,
“Every time I use my power, someone gets hurt.” 

Contrasting characters with Flags

Arguably every good drama is about characters with different beliefs, goals, ideals and
doubts hashing out their differences between each other.  Amongst all the players, it
really helps and is fun to design your Flags together – bouncing off each other to create
points of conflict, discussion or growth.  (It’s also a GOOD idea to know whether conflict
will be just for show, minor and resolved later, or potentially the source of all out conflict
between characters before you put these together…)

The simple way is to just set up opposing Flags (“The system must be destroyed!”, “We
can fix things through reform!”).  What often works better is to set up a different Flag
that is perpendicular, rather than directly opposing.  For example, one character is
hellbent on revenge, the other character is swore to see to the safety of the first character.
It’s not directly opposing, but you can see plenty of places where they can conflict
between each other.

The Trap of Non-Flags

When I first named these general types of mechanics as “Flags”, almost immediately
people started asking “Well, what if I just look at where the player puts the most skill/stat
points, that’s telling me what they want out of a game, right?”

NOPE!  A player may choose to give their character an awesome sword skill for any of
the following reasons:

- They want to get into sword fights as a focus of play

- They really don’t like sword fights, but putting a lot of points there means it will be
over quickly when it happens.

- They expect the game to be lethal, and are afraid if they don’t put points into sword
skills, their character will die.

- It fits the concept of their character but they don’t actually ever expect to use it that
much.

Notice that one involves wanting that kind of conflict, and the other three basically don’t
want that conflict at all or in a real way.  This is why stats and scores are not necessarily
useful, and why Flag mechanics are by nature, explicit.

If your game doesn’t have Flags, I suggest playing a game or two that does, so you can
see how they work, before trying to import or hack the mechanics into a game that
doesn’t have them.  A nice easy one for most folks to try out is Lady Blackbird.