bsss's latest activity

Okay, sure, you can't guarantee the player(s) or their PC(s) will commit to doing something. They can lie about their future actions or...

A good system and a commitment to play your character, on either side of the screen, according to their knowledge, personality...

I mostly take "tricked" to mean that the GM can't be conned. They can be surprised, the system can give players bennies or whatever and...

This is the flaw of treating the PCs and NPCs symmetrically, because you are right, the GM knows whether or not the PC is "lying"...

I don't think it's remotely plausible that these "tools" are mutually exclusive, or one inherently better than the other.

As a DM I find DCs to be useful because I don't really know how my hastily sketched NPCs would respond, and because I know what the PCs...

Generally, I think this is more a player approach situation. There’s a large contingent of TTRPG tables that think of every game as...

Player agency is vital to the game but also delicate in times of interpretation. To preserve that agency, features that compel any kind...

Yup. If I wanted to play any genre of game that they make a PbtA for (and often do), I would do it with a toolkit system I enjoy more.

I think both kinds of games are good, and I'm glad both exist (although I prefer the toolkit style). I would only pick up and play an...

In my opinion, this is the part that makes it not a "magic abilities have special privileges" reading: 1. a system can allow NPCs to...

Note: This response is going to be a lot of freeform rambling, as I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, but not enough time to edit...

This is a good analysis of Blades. I find that I want to like BitD (and Scum & Villainy) but I struggle to actually do so. Or, put...

As I was writing my reply, I realized this became a spectrum question for me. I don't find hyper-opinionated games very compelling...

"Because magic." If there is a rule in the game that overrides the basic premise that players make their own decisions, it needs to be...