Recent content by piou

I should clarify that. I find it easy to add or modify things to PbtA games (and Apocalypse World in particular). What I find difficult is to do a good hack. I find that good PbtA games rely on a subtle balance focusing on a specific atmosphere and theme and writting a hack that meshes with it...

There's a lot to unpack in that assumption IMHO. You're free to have your opinion on the matter of course, but presenting it as a general truth hides lots of opportunities. We agree that having an intended way to play (IWTP) is beneficial to a game. Then what does it mean to have a wrong way...

I apply with rules the same approach I use with cooking recipes: I always try not to change them before trying them a few times unmodified. I think your analysis is missing an important chunk. On one hand I agree with you that ultimately what matters is that people have fun playing the game. If...

It's worth noting that the 4 FATE actions are really different in their philosophy. In FATE, if you're trying to do something where "an interesting opposition" (sic) is present, then you need to roll the dice, and to roll the dice you have to choose one of the 4 actions. You're essentially...

More than "no fudging" being good, I think important to say that PbtA games generally provide an environment where fudging is not necessary. There are games where fudging is possible and sometimes desirable since they sometimes create situations where the dice take away from the ability of the...

PbtA isn't a single system and for any thing a given PbtA does you'll find one that does it differently. In that sense it's very different from Fate or Gurps: it's not a modular system, it's more of a design philosophy. There are however some common traits among PbtA games: They generally use...

I can think of one case in which the GM agency concept might describe something concrete and it has to do with the "informed decision" part. Sometimes players ask a question without making their intention clear. Something like "Is there a purple book in the library?". As a GM it's not that you...

Not very many yet, not counting PDFs (too many and I don't play them anyway, I buy paper if I intend to): D&D BECMI (up to Companion as Master and Immortals were never published in France) Old-School Essentials (basic and advanced) Dungeon World Paranoia 2nd edition Dungeon World Ironsworn +...

BECMI 1. Surprise: if any side is surprised and the other isn't, they get a free round 2. On the beginning of each round, roll 1d6. 1-3: the players start, 4-6: their opponents 3a. Missile actions 3b. Magic actions 3c. Melee actions 4. Then the other side 5. Morale 6. Back to 2 I'm not too...

Friday evening, the first players come around 6pm bringing sweets, crisps etc. We chat as I setup the table and wait for the other players. My table averages 8 players (open table) so it can take a while, but it's in good fun. If we're the first session of the month I take the tax off the bank...

Most GMing advice on the internet caters to a specific playstyle: if it's not your playstyle that advice may not be for you.

Speaking about dragon there's a very weird method based on ability score in the very first issue that shows it was at least a question that was on people's mind, but it wasn't roll under your stat. Issue #68 (1983) however has an article titled "You've always got a chance" by Katharine Kerr that...