Hey Bill,
So right off the bat, I have to admit: I'm an IBGA whore.
So from my experience, in terms of your concern, I have found that IBGAs do an amazing job of
setting-up mods to happen during events,
not replace them. If I know someone needs to be rescued from a tower, my IBGA would most likely include all the planning necessary to stage an escape. While the live mod would be the actual rescue. In many instances, PCs have found that doing such IBGA actions beforehand had made the mod itself much more manageable. The Magic Eater Queen mod was a prime example of this. Now just taking on the mod blindly at the event, while not at all disallowed, will most likely be much more challenging, and in some instances,
disastrous.
With that said, I need to make sure you understand a distinction between
general plot advancements (created by NPCs) and
personal player plot advancements (instigated by PCs). Many have found that their own personal plots have been highly affected by there IBGAs. I can think of two players who's characters have been critically changed due to last month's IBGAs. Do these character advancements sometimes create mods that can happen at events? Absolutely. But monster camp doesn't dictate this, the player's own choices do. Your involvement with the general planned plot for an event isn't compromised or diminished from these personal plots that can bleed into game time.
It should be noted that in my experience, a
large amount of information is passed around between PCs on other internet platforms, mainly Facebook. I know of several message threads and groups that are created and regularly used on Facebook. Most of these forums have a Plot member attached to observe. Now does this constant online interaction possibly diminish the "live-action" roleplay you seek? It could be very easily argued. But even if others agreed, it would be near impossible to police it by plot. Many of the our players are very passionate about this game and will continue to build up the world we reside in. I don't feel this is ultimately a bad thing. You are not required to engage to this degree, nor do I think it necessarily hinders you from enjoying actual events. All major IBGAs are posted via rumors, albeit with varying degrees of truth to them. All major plots are posted in some way to the dreaming before an event as well. So anyone who spends 5 minutes online a week before an event will have a basic understanding of what to expect come that weekend.
You don't have to spend a large amount of time online to lay ground work for the next event either. You don't have to sit in on long chats with other players to prevent being lost at the start of an event. Even very simple IBGAs can garner you some very helpful information from plot. So how do you jump head-first into the tangled web known as IBGAs? Here are a few ways. (These suggestions are not just targeted at you Bill, but for any new players unsure how to be involved)
- Some times, adventurers will blatantly post on the dreaming for help. Take advantage of that.
- What has largely worked for me is following up on NPCs or locations after a mod is over. Those characters don't just go away after a mod. A majority of my first year plots were created mainly because I revisited or followed up with mods like the lizard men, Bracken's glade, and Edgar Saban. They were all a blast.
- Create your own personal goals for the character and build those goals up through IBGAs. Sam wanted to own a tavern badly during his first year. I worked hard gaining capital and contacts via IBGAs to ensure it happened.
- Contact guild leaders (ie Company, Azure Keep, Brotherhood, Lifestorm, etc) and offer your assistance. I guarantee that any major guild in Chicago has a ton of jobs and goals that need to be carried out. Offering your assistance will many times give you things to do.
- Some IBGAs don't need to be missions. Some characters research recipes, craft great items, or simply listen for rumors. Some of the most simplest actions can eventually garner some interesting plot that will occur at an event.
Now my opinions are from a PCs perspective. I don't suggest that these are the only ways plot wants you to feel about IBGAs (Ryan already did a great job explaining them above). But I truly feel that this is a game that will give you every opportunity to explore your character and this world to the fullest and IBGAs help supplement that, not overpower i
