Notes from a Mission Controller (part 1)

I've run countless Solar Echoes games, and each time I run another one, I notice new things. It is difficult to predict the mileage each person will get out of different experiences in the game. There is an aspect of these experiences that needs to be carefully measured: difficulty. This is managed by the MC, and there are several approaches one can take. It is easy to strictly follow the mission as written, regardless of the circumstances the players might have placed themselves in, but in my opinion, it is the job of the MC to keep things challenging, sometimes even right at the edge of seemingly impossible, but to still make sure the players have a chance to succeed. It's much more fun for players to feel like almost all hope is lost but then emerge later with success—this is what makes them feel heroic. Yet one recent scenario in Solar Echoes was received differently by two players. The situation was that the two had taken cover inside a dark cave because somewhere outside, hidden among the rocks, were two very accurate and deadly snipers that had already managed to critically injure one of the team with a single shot. There was a point where the players felt helpless and trapped—they knew that poking their head outside was suicide. Yet through discussion and a plan of desperation, they managed to use a distraction, run quickly for cover, and locate the snipers during the process as they were shot at. The team was able to kill the sniper team, and, though the players' characters were injured from the encounter, they survived. The reaction to this experience from the players was very informative: one loved it, but the other felt it was too difficult, perhaps even unbalanced.