Is RPGing a literary endeavour?

Imaro · Jun 13, 2019

hawkeyefan said:
But we absolutely can talk about which deserves more focus. We can do so generally, we can do so for specific examples, we can do so for RPGs or any other medium. I would say that they are separate enough that a GM could work on improving one area over the other. Would you agree with that? We typically describe the GM role as having multiple areas, right? Do we think of these areas as one jumbled mess, or as interrelated but distinct roles? I think it’s the latter.

My advice to someone who wants to be a great DM would be to focus on both (as well as other things not brought up in this thread), get better at both and practice both because they are intertwined and complement each other. That said play to your strengths and shamelessly steal (content or presentation) to make up for what you are weakest in.

I think stressing one as core or higher than the other only serves to exclude or downplay one skill vs another... one playstyle vs. another... etc. which ultimately I don't see the purpose of except maybe to make certain people feel their way of playing is superior??

hawkeyefan · Jun 13, 2019

Imaro said:
My advice to someone who wants to be a great DM would be to focus on both (as well as other things not brought up in this thread), get better at both and practice both because they are intertwined and complement each other. That said play to your strengths and shamelessly steal (content or presentation) to make up for what you are weakest in.

I think stressing one as core or higher than the other only serves to exclude or downplay one skill vs another... one playstyle vs. another... etc. which ultimately I don't see the purpose of except maybe to make certain people feel their way of playing is superior??

Saying they’re both important is fine. Saying one is more important than the other....whichever one you may believe to be....is also fine. Is it about being superior? I don’t think in the way you mean.

It’s not “my game is superior to yours because I focus on the fictional situations more than the presentation” but rather “For me, games that focus on fictional situation more than presentation are the superior choice.”

To go back to comic books....I care much more about the writing than I do about the art. That’s not to say that I don’t care about the art at all, or that I don’t appreciate it. Quite the opposite. For me, I’ll tolerate lesser art for a great story much more readily than I’ll tolerate a weak story for great art. Ideally, both will be great, but if anyone asked me which is more important, I’d say the writing.

It’s not an attack on art, or on anyone for whom the art is more important. It’s just a matter of preference.

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

lowkey13 said:
(I'm thinking about how to say, using dance, "I rolled a 13. Did I hit?" I think I have to practice!)

You do a Disco Poke, with exactly enough accuracy to hit AC 13. Duh.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/19-disco-moves-that-could-beat-someone-up

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

lowkey13 said:
the individuals who are most involved in advancing the "Only framing!" perspective tend to write long, flowery, narrative pieces, whereas those attacking it tend to write in a jocular and conversational style. Jus' sayin'.

No narration! Only framing!

See also:

No take! Only throw!

https://imgur.com/gallery/q46L4QH

Hriston · Jun 13, 2019

Imaro said:
I was speaking to the genesis of the tangent... but not sure how this changes what you said.

What I said was in the context of [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION]’s question about dungeon dressing, which relates directly back to the OP by equating dungeon dressing with “the literary”, not the context of your tangent, which really does seem to miss the point because no one is saying the players are going to be interested in elements of dungeon dressing no matter how poorly they’re described.

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

lowkey13 said:
That's why it's neither ... or both. It tastes great, and is less filling.

(Its a STYLISTIC .... SUBSTANCE, or, put another way, it's a ROLE PLAYING .... GAME ).

Have you played my new TRPG, "Floor Waxes & Dessert Toppings"?

Further dilemmas:

Is light primarily a particulate endeavor?

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

lowkey13 said:
"When you say inching, do you mean moving with the old AD&D system of movement?"

Of course, you should capture it; "that belongs in a museum". You'll have to use AD&D rules on subdual. You might even resort to AD&D rules on morale checks and/or grappling. It's a horror monster; and those rules do Sanity damage, direct to the players.

Actually, you should *start* by luring it into a museum. Once it's inside, its 12" move will traverse 120 feet, rather than the battlefield value of 120 yards.

Even better, lure it into an old edition of Hero System, in which 1" is two meters!

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

Hriston said:
I don't know about @pemerton’s post, but that post of mine you quoted was not made in reply to you or anything you said. I made it in response to @Hussar’s post which directly preceded mine and which asked why dungeon dressing appears in most editions of the DMG.

Imaro said:
I was speaking to the genesis of the tangent... but not sure how this changes what you said.

Alright, Ovinomancer, please issue a ruling:

Should I evaluate Hriston's assertion only according to its literal content?

Or does context change the value of its content?

Is it true... from a certain point of view? That is, the point of view, which equates Hriston with nobody?

Archaic allusion time:

Q: Who did Polyphemos hate, even more than Odysseus?

A: Nobody!

pemerton · Jun 13, 2019

Riley37 said:
No narration! Only framing!

The post you quoted is nearly 400 words, has two footnotes and an edit, and references Hemingway and Henry Miller.

I'm not sure there's much profit in critiquing posting styles or trying to diagnose irony. [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION] has (by my count) 7 posts since posting "My last post". Is that irony? An atypical use of the word last? (Maybe we should debate the meaning of the word last, or even post - my count of posts doesn't XP/laugh clicks - for several hundred posts.) Or is it just a change of mind and someone saying stuff that they feel like saying?

Riley37 · Jun 13, 2019

lowkey13 said:
the problem with this thread is that people are arguing past each other because they can't agree on what they are discussing.

You have told us the problem with this thread. Well done. Would you like a biscuit? Or some other form of recognition?

I know the problem with D&D, and I still play D&D.

I know the problem with cheese, and I still eat cheese.

I know the problem with this thread, and I still post in this thread.