side from having a way to deal with players within the context of the story, you need to handle players’ questions outside the story. During the first half-hour of a game, it’s a good idea to keep a Narrator “out of game” to answer any questions players might have. When players step out of character to ask questions, you don’t want them in the main playing area. Set the “outside” Narrator up in another room. The most important thing to remember when interacting with players is to never remind them they are playing a game; addressing a Narrator as a Narrator does just that.

You may occasionally need to impart information that a character cannot offer. You have to provide such information as discreetly as possible without distracting players from their characters. Shadows are the best way to go about doing this; remember that they may have access to the Spectres’ hive mind if you need to explain where the info came from.

If you want to be stylish about offering game information to players, you can prepare notes for Narrators to hand to players who discover things. You can also put notes in closed envelopes where clues might be found. You can write requirements on the outside of the envelope, requirements that must be met before the player may look at the clue within.

One thing you want to avoid when dealing with players is letting them overuse Narrators. Players may try to use Narrators as messengers, to summon other characters, or to try new and interesting abuses of Arcanoi. If a player asks for such favors too often, Narrators can simply refuse their help. Especially in Oblivion, with the added tasks of Shadowguiding and running Harrowings, Narrators are simply in to short a supply to allow them to become hostages to characters or roles.