[@Buddha]

I personally feel that in any written scene, it ruins the drama if you know what two characters are thinking at all times. I even think that a writer should be careful not to write too much about what ONE character is thinking. an example:

[i]Jon: "I'm going to go kiss Rebecca, because I think she likes me."

Rebecca: "Hello Jon, you wanted to see me-"

Jon: *kisses Rebecca*[/i]

VS

[i]Jon: "I'm going to go see Rebecca, I have something to give her."

Rebecca: "Hello Jon, you wanted to see me-"

Jon: *kisses Rebecca*
[/i]

In the first example, Jon spoils his own story. There's no dramatic tension, he does what he set out to do. In the second example, we are held in anticipation as we wait for Jon to give Rebecca whatever it is he wants to give her. And we are surprised when it turns out to not be an object, but a kiss. There's an extra level of excitement when we don't know if Rebecca even wants to be kissed or not, and watching her reaction unfold is more interesting when we aren't really sure EXACTLY what her thoughts are leading up to this point.

The only time I see the first version being a better option than the second is if Jon's plan goes wrong. Maybe he screws up the kiss, or Rebecca actually loathes him. But if these were two different roleplayers, the second option is almost always better because of it's flexibility. It certainly isn't a bad option if things go south after the kiss.


Just recently I wrote a scene where a valiant ranger (Isylte) escorted my thief slash pyromancer (Veronica) to one of her hideouts. Veronica had helped save a village, so Isylte fet she owed her a ride home. Once they get there, Veronica got extremely comfortable with Isylte and invited her to do things like eat some of her food, stay and talk, etc. Isylte's player did a good job of letting us see her thoughts without revealing exactly what she planned to do next. The ranger wasn't very trusting, and was in the company of an unsavory thief. You didn't know if she was going to draw steel, run away, or continue to entertain Veronica. In the end, Veronica revealed that she's actually has few friends and just wants Isylte to be one. Had I narrated every thought that entered Veronica's head, the scene would have lost it's tension. We'd have all known Isylte's caution was misplaced.

I do not feel that hiding my character's thoughts makes them less important. Many times I feel it makes them more interesting to other players. Veronica has some mental problems and by not narrating her thoughts, she keeps her unpredictable nature. Her teacher on the other hand, I narrate his thoughts a lot. Reading his thoughts gives a better look at what veronica is doing and how she is viewed by a friend who knows her. But I only do that if he's in a scene alone with Veronica, or the other player isn't doing much thought narrating.