Okay, here's a question. Last week, we began a campaign of MotW, and we just about managed to bring the group together and frame the first mystery; and already now (after writing up some mysteries) I am wondering how a MotW campaign will go, with special reference to 3:16. Why 3:16? Well, that was for us "Planet of the Week", and the only strictly episodic game I ever really ran, so that's the basis for comparison; and during that campaign, we really slipped into the productive pattern of "it's about the mission", "it's not about the mission" (repeat ad destructum), discussed elsewhere specifically for 3:16. That pattern entailed that the first few missions were just that, straightforward missions with happy killcounting, and then every now and then, there was a session where the mission of course also took place, but really only provided a backdrop for other developments in party dynamics or in the group's engagement with the setting, such as when people tried to find out more about the 3:16, about Earth, etc. These "other" missions often followed up on missions which introduced some elements of doubt into the basic premise (i.e., shooting up a planet of pacifist rock-painting squirrels). Now, such shifts are obviously built into 3:16.
But what about MotW? The book (RAW) leaves little doubt that there could be anything dubious about going out and killing monsters. But how about a monster which happens to be the protector of a community ("kill the murderous golem!")? Or unique monsters which might be dangerous, but enrich the biosphere ("kill Alec Holland!")? Of course, nothing stops me from setting up such mysteries, but I was wondering whether just as in 3:16, it might be a "natural" development of a MotW-campaign that such grey areas show up, and muddle the hitherto straightforward campaign premise... Thoughts? Experiences?