This is intended to be a broad discussion, with wide open definitions of "tools" "results" and "in play" -- and maybe even "want."
As such, it might be worthwhile to illustrate what I mean by way of example.
One of the results I am looking for when running D&D-like RPGs (and by that I am talking more about playstyle than any particular rule set) is creating a very strong sense of risk vs reward. I want the players (and their characters) to to make a meaningful choice about whether to push on or explore or pick a fight or whatever, knowing that the potential negative consequences are aligned with the potential rewards. Note here that while this often means death vs fortune, it doesn't have to be, depending on the precise details.
The tool I usually lean on to help me get here is the players' own expectations based on their experience with both gaming and adventure media in general. That is to day, if a fire breathing dragon guards the cave, there is likely a pile of treasure inside, or if the long abandoned wizard's tower is still crackling with arcane energy, there is going to be some gnarly stuff inside but also lost magical knowledge and/or items.
This tool has weaknesses, of course. People recently come to the hobby have fewer expectations to "weaponize" in this way, and so I find myself being more explicit about the potential risks and rewards. Also, the farther a game's mechanics are from traditional adventuring (it doesn't have to be fantasy) can make it a little harder. It doesn't work as well for super hero games, for example, because those games are less often about the PCs weighing risks versus rewards. And, of course, my own inexperience with a particular rule set can undermine this in that i might not know how to get the right risk vs reward balance initially (especially fi the game itself does not have a built in system for that, such as CR or whatever).
So, broadly, that's what I mean: what is a goal you have in play, and what techniques, resources, methods, etc... do you use to try and achieve that goal in play?
As such, it might be worthwhile to illustrate what I mean by way of example.
One of the results I am looking for when running D&D-like RPGs (and by that I am talking more about playstyle than any particular rule set) is creating a very strong sense of risk vs reward. I want the players (and their characters) to to make a meaningful choice about whether to push on or explore or pick a fight or whatever, knowing that the potential negative consequences are aligned with the potential rewards. Note here that while this often means death vs fortune, it doesn't have to be, depending on the precise details.
The tool I usually lean on to help me get here is the players' own expectations based on their experience with both gaming and adventure media in general. That is to day, if a fire breathing dragon guards the cave, there is likely a pile of treasure inside, or if the long abandoned wizard's tower is still crackling with arcane energy, there is going to be some gnarly stuff inside but also lost magical knowledge and/or items.
This tool has weaknesses, of course. People recently come to the hobby have fewer expectations to "weaponize" in this way, and so I find myself being more explicit about the potential risks and rewards. Also, the farther a game's mechanics are from traditional adventuring (it doesn't have to be fantasy) can make it a little harder. It doesn't work as well for super hero games, for example, because those games are less often about the PCs weighing risks versus rewards. And, of course, my own inexperience with a particular rule set can undermine this in that i might not know how to get the right risk vs reward balance initially (especially fi the game itself does not have a built in system for that, such as CR or whatever).
So, broadly, that's what I mean: what is a goal you have in play, and what techniques, resources, methods, etc... do you use to try and achieve that goal in play?
