Now that you have your idea it’s time to review the methods you can use to present your sim. GMs have a few methods of giving information to the players and moving the sim along. They include Narrative posts, Interactive posts, and Elsewhere Posts.
Omniscient/Narrative
This is probably the most common GM style in STF, or anywhere. Simply put, the GM knows all and shares the information with the players when needed: usually in the form of Starfleet orders, a diagnostic outcome and sensor information. Any characters the GM introduces to the story can be used to impart information in this way.
Interactive Posts
As with Omniscient/Narrative, the GM knows all, but his way of telling is different. Here, the GM creates characters whose interaction with the crew reveals the needed information. A GM can use sim characters to convey all types of information, ranging from explaining why the villain of the sim is trying to destroy a planet, or what background information the Intelligence Agent has on certain smugglers.
Interactive posts are dependent on the GM creating his own characters. Sometimes these will be very basic characters, the interaction will be limited. Other times the sim may revolve around a GM character. These type of characters need to be as real and as deep as the characters that you play on other ships.
Elsewhere Posts
This type of post should really be used sparingly. Often times I have seen it used in moderation in the start and end of a sim. Basically, this is a post where one or more of the GMs sim characters are interacting with each other, or with themselves. These posts are great for foreshadowing upcoming events. It’s a subtle way of managing meta vs in character expectations.
Examples:
Omniscient/Narrative Post
Suddenly, the rundown freighter the USS - Anyname had been escorting exploded in a blinding flash of light, sending debris in all directions.
Interactive Post
A player may post: “So did you notice anything unusual before you heard the explosion,” Lt. Anywho asked as he interviewed the survivor.
A GM’s response could be: The injured man, an elderly Bajoran, nodded to the question, “I heard weapons fire. Lots of it… I stuck my head out of the cargo hold to see what I could and that’s when I saw a Cardassian running in my direction!”
Elsewhere Post
The Cardassian Commander shook his head as he saw the latest sensor readings. The Starfleet vessel had found survivors. This was not good. He slowly swivelled in his chair and turned to the helmsman. “Set an intercept course,” he ordered, “Maximum warp.”
So how do you decide which style to use? There’s no clear-cut way. If you’re a strong role-player you may find the Interactive style of posts more enjoyable than the Narrative. If you’re more of a storyteller, then the reverse may be true.
A strong GM has mastered all these types of posts and is able to pull them together in perfect harmony to tell his sim and entertain the players. When starting out you should try to use a combination of these type of posts. It’s probably wise to avoid the elsewhere style for now. Take great care when developing characters to interact with the crew, keep a note of any key points so they don’t trip you up.