Editing Coordinating Pause (section)

==Coordinating a Story==

In many pen-and-paper role-playing and storytelling games, the role of the person in control of the actions is usually called something like a ''dungeon master,'' ''game master,'' or a ''storyteller.'' These terms tend to suggest that the person in this role has most of the say in the story and that the Players are only his or her pawns in executing the story he or she wants, and little more.

There is reason that the term ''Coordinator'' is used in '''''Pause''''': the Coordinator may be in charge of running the story, but is also subject to the whims of the Players in terms of creating the story. Making a story in Pause is a cooperative affair. The Coordinator's role then is to facilitate the creation of the story without letting it either wither away or to grow out of control. Coordinators can employ a variety of techniques to achieve this task. Some suggestions are as follows.

===Environment===

The environment the Coordinator and the Players play in is paramount to the success of the story. First and foremost, there should be as little distraction as possible. The easiest way to maintain this is to focus all the action around a central point – usually a table. This keeps the Players focused on the action most of the time.

Other than focus, the Players need to be comfortable. They will not want to be around if their seats are rigid and make them sit uncomfortably. Too bright or dim a light and things become difficult or unbearable to read. An air conditioner set too hot or too cold will make them sweat or shiver too much to focus on the story.

Game sessions usually take anywhere from a couple hours to all day, depending on how long and how interesting the story becomes. Keep refreshments on hand, or perhaps suggest the Players to bring their own. Hunger and thirst can reduce the quality of the story, as well as to interrupt it so that the Players can go out to feed themselves.

===Ambiance===

When the playing environment has been established, the Players can focus on the story. However, adding some elements to the environment that relate to the story being created can help the Players focus even more.

Music and soundtracks are an easy start to adding ambiance to the environment. Perhaps an a low-volume recording of the sounds of busy streets can help settle the Players into an urban atmosphere. Unsettling sounds can get them into the feeling a Pause brings upon the characters. Appropriate music may make significant events in the story even more so.

Props can also help bring the story to life. Perhaps the Players can base their characters' Anchors on real life objects of their own and thus bring them to sessions with them. Miniatures representing the characters and the enemies can also give the Players an idea of themselves and what they are up against. Even dim lighting and the use of candles can set a somber mood for a corresponding scenario.

===Narrative===

As the Coordinator leads the Players through the important events in the story, as well as playing the role of all the characters that do not belong to the Players, it is important that the Coordinator can present the story in a compelling manner.

Description is key here. Whether it is detailing a new setting, explaining new ideas, or introducing new characters to the Players, the description should be eloquent and detailed enough to give the characters a sense of what is being described. However, there is a point where the description becomes overkill and thus loses the interest of the Players. Keep it explanatory, but succinct, effective and to the point.

Speech skills are also important. Even if the Coordinator isn't gifted in altering his or her voice for each character played, he or she can employ inflections in the voice, as well as use hand and arm motions to emphasize what the Coordinator's character would want to convey to the Players' characters. If everyone the characters encounter in the story talk in the same tone, the same inflections, the same emphases, the Players will likely lose interest very quickly.

===Pacing===

A Coordinator must also have a feel for how to time events during a story. Take too long with something and the Players may want to take their time and energy elsewhere. Take too short and the Players may lose an important detail that will be needed later.

As easy as it is to time events wrongly, it is just as easy to get it right. Important events which require a detailed explanation where the characters can glean clues and hints from should be given more time than the events in between which lend little or no substance toward the story. If there is a discovery that can lead the characters in the right direction during their investigation, give it more time than a stretch of days in which the characters live their normal lives between Pauses.

===Flow===

As with pacing the events of the story, the actions taken in the story need to be consistent and smooth. One good way to do this is to disregard dice rolls whenever possible, especially between Pauses.

This can be done through a simple comparison of trait scores. If the score is exceedingly higher than what would be required to achieve a task, let the character achieve it. Same thing if the score is really low – automatic failure in that case.

Another way to achieve this is through the use of role-play. If a character can come up with a creative, yet feasibly logical solution to a problem, and it ends up being better or more effective than a more common solution, let the character succeed with it. However, if a character tries something too off the wall, make him or her pay for it.

===Flashbacks===

A useful tool for recapping important events from the past is the flashback. When it is appropriate for a recap – for instance, a puzzle that requires knowledge from a past scenario to solve it – let the character who has said knowledge to remember it, or at least give clues that may jog his or her memory.

===Cutaways===

Sometimes the characters are split from each other, but are participating in separate events at the same time. It is good to alternate sections of these events among the different groups, especially if the different events tie into each other somehow as the events progress.

===Foreshadowing===

Another way to help the characters along the story is to play out important future events which the characters will get to regardless of how they act in the present time. This technique can offer a sense of inevitability and tension where just playing in one continuous time-line cannot.

===Encouragement===

As much as the Coordinator can do to enhance the story, it is still ultimately up to the Players to keep up their end of the story's creation. Some Players will be naturals at role-playing their characters convincingly and lending to the story. Others however, will not.

This is where the Coordinator comes in. The first thing he or she can do to encourage Player participation and narrative is to offer incentives for good role-playing. These incentives can be in many forms: help with identifying clues and hints before and during a Pause; bonuses and re-rolls during the Pause; or extra character progression after a Pause for instance.

Another way to encourage role-playing is to introduce situations where the problematic Player's character needs to do something else other than to watch. However, try to gauge the Player's enjoyment of the story at hand before forcing him or her into this sort of situation, as it can easily backfire. As such, this is a technique which needs to be reserved for special situations where the incentives do not work.

===Conduct===

Sadly, not all Players get along from the outset. Also, the Coordinator should not force the Players into anything they do not want to do. There needs to be a fine balance between Player enjoyment and story control.

The easiest way to manage this is to keep the Players involved in their characters. When the Players are focused on doing whatever they can to keep their characters alive and to keep learning more about the mysteries at hand, the less they can derail the story from the tracks. Conversely, the Coordinator should not be forcing the Players into playing their characters one particular way or to only progress the story in one particular direction. Essentially, keep the Players engaged and interested, and they will likely return the favor.

Another means to maintain this balance is to limit out-of-character talk while the story is in progress. While the Players may know information which the characters, in theory, do not, it is important that the Player's knowledge does not factor into the character's actions when the character does not know the information. However, it is okay if a Player consults with the Coordinator or other Players if he or she does not understand a rule or needs a recap of events to bring him or her up to speed.

===Confidence===

Ultimately, a Coordinator should be a person confident in both the story he or she is helping craft as well as managing it along the way. Too little confidence and the Players will either trounce through the story without much role-playing, or they will simply lose interest altogether. Be too arrogant about it though and the story will go nowhere, and the Players will likely leave as well. The confidence a Coordinator expresses is the x-factor that can make or break a story, even before it gets started.