Theory of Games
Storied Gamist
Tell you what it won't look like: 4e and the old model of printing books. This is what Hasbro is telling us with every move.
D&D General Player-generated fiction in D&D
- Thread starter pemerton
- Start date
KYRON45
Hero
Aren't they printing and selling the 2024 books?
Theory of Games
Storied Gamist
Right 2010: when Pathfinder became the best-selling tabletop rpg over D&D 4e. OOPS.
Theory of Games
Storied Gamist
Just 3K at GenCon? Not very impressive for a company trying to market its newest update. Activision can do updates in their sleep and no books are needed. That's where Hasbro is going with D&D. F U L L Y digital.
TwoSix
Everyone's literal second-favorite poster
I think "meta-mechanics" can be a bit orthogonal to the immersion discussion.
It might not be an explicit "mechanic", but knowing that you as a player have the authority to make statements about your character that are then true, even if they impact the setting outside of your character, I have found to be quite useful, if not close to essential, for achieve an immersed state.
KYRON45
Hero
I ordered a paper copy.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
I think there's a role for the GM to push back where players are clearly going to feel the urge to use specific skill bonuses and maybe the fiction is better served/represented by something different. 4e's system is set up for that, the GM is able to say 'No' but should only be doing so sparingly.
And 4e really doesn't specifically talk about low/zero myth play either, it expects existing fiction into which stuff has to slot.
Admittedly we went beyond that by taking it to the fully Story Now practice, but the game has the tools to deal with that, and I have long felt that is not an accident.
Clint_L
Legend
In my 5e games, most of the plot is generated by choices made by the players.
Each player's backstory is incorporated into the ongoing story, and players are free to add to their backstory as they feel inspired. Then I just figure out how to work it into the narrative as seamlessly as possible. On top of that, players are encouraged to contribute to the story in real time, so if a character walks into a bar and asks whether they see anyone they know, for example, I'll reply with "you tell me." Or maybe they're out scouting and notice something interesting. Though this only works when the player/DM relationship is fairly copacetic. We've even run one session using modified Fiasco rules, so everyone had a coequal part in crafting the story of jewel heist in real time.
As far as the overarching story goes, I run a pretty classic sandbox. There's a world and there's stuff happening in it, but there are plenty of options and the player choices determine where things will go. I avoid end of the world scenarios for this reason - if you present one, the players have no real choice but to respond to it. Besides which, I don't think you need the threat of armageddon to have meaningful stakes.
That's not to say the way we do things is the best way. It just works for us. We're starting a new experiment tonight as we are launching into Vecna: Eve of Ruin. I almost never do pre-written adventures for my home games, so I've heavily modified this one to add links to character back stories, to make the stakes less apocalyptic, and to add branching paths and space for players to add on.
Each player's backstory is incorporated into the ongoing story, and players are free to add to their backstory as they feel inspired. Then I just figure out how to work it into the narrative as seamlessly as possible. On top of that, players are encouraged to contribute to the story in real time, so if a character walks into a bar and asks whether they see anyone they know, for example, I'll reply with "you tell me." Or maybe they're out scouting and notice something interesting. Though this only works when the player/DM relationship is fairly copacetic. We've even run one session using modified Fiasco rules, so everyone had a coequal part in crafting the story of jewel heist in real time.
As far as the overarching story goes, I run a pretty classic sandbox. There's a world and there's stuff happening in it, but there are plenty of options and the player choices determine where things will go. I avoid end of the world scenarios for this reason - if you present one, the players have no real choice but to respond to it. Besides which, I don't think you need the threat of armageddon to have meaningful stakes.
That's not to say the way we do things is the best way. It just works for us. We're starting a new experiment tonight as we are launching into Vecna: Eve of Ruin. I almost never do pre-written adventures for my home games, so I've heavily modified this one to add links to character back stories, to make the stakes less apocalyptic, and to add branching paths and space for players to add on.
Not really. A player declaring stuff about who their PC is, and knows, and what their PCs remember, (i) isn't especially meta, and (ii) needn't rely on any mechanic.
But anyway, if your answer to the question in the OP is that your D&D doesn't have a high volume of player-generated fiction, cool. Thanks for replying!
No. That's not what the rule says.
A skill challenge is defined by a goal and the obstacles that stand in the way of the PCs accomplishing that goal. Not by a task like climbing a wall.
