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Paladin and Wizard obliterate dragon!

I wouldn't say this is strictly true of all PBtA games. Though there are no traditional rounds or initiative order, in a recent Dungeon World session my Paladin, his squire, and my wife's Wizard went toe-to-toe with an ancient blue dragon, and that dynamic battle of four participants involved a...

What do you mean by natural, above? Something like the inevitable consequence of play without interfering artifice? But if so, that suggests One True Wayism, doesn't it? Further, and I don't know how to say this more clearly, you are never your character. Willing suspension of disbelief to...

Are you saying you never daydream of some past event that overtakes/interrupts your experience of the present? We are speaking of imaginative acts here. How is that anything but disrupting the chronological flow of time as you experience it? EDIT: Ninja'd!

I'm a pretty good reader. In fact, it's a primary component of my profession. Some might even say the primary component. But I do not understand what you mean by exploration here. In relation to what you say about No Myth, what you write suggests to me that exploration only means to you...

There is no "so to speak." That is you coming up with a plan and pretending your character did so. I'm still unclear on what you are contrasting this with. There is no character-enacted change to any fundamental laws. When we speak of flashbacks, for example and as already discussed, we are...

Can you explain the difference you see between having a good imagination to weave outcomes (whatever it is you think that means) versus having a good imagination to think the things you do as a player are things your character is doing?

@AnotherGuy, I don't have time for a more substantial post right now, but I think what you describe above is a classic example of why system matters, and how you are finding 5E's system fighting you as you try to foster different desiderata from play from what it presumes.

I have to agree with @Manbearcat and @Ovinomancer: your posts here are super interesting and thoughtful but they expose a serious misunderstanding of the principles and agendas of Story Now gaming. I know very little of Masks, just a few blog posts really, and perhaps the ps&as of that game draw...

I would! And I certainly haven't thought you're slagging on your game with @Manbearcat. What's more, I do believe you can enjoy it thoroughly and yet still hold some ambivalence. Again, I will be interested to see how you feel after another half dozen sessions or so....

This is a tough thing to peg down! I mean, one of the great strengths of Story Now gaming is following the fiction in the moment, and if a player paints a compelling picture for fictional positioning, wouldn't anything less than permissive adjudication run counter to the game's principles...

Because of your rhetorical framing, I can't tell if these are suspicions you yourself entertain or whether you are speculating about outside observers here. Regardless, I'm curious to find out how you feel once your characters advance to fifth, sixth level or so and have an opportunity to see...

Been a moment, but I have some time to set down some scattered thoughts in response. First off, I have to note that character immersion is not a high priority for me and, like @prabe, I don't think it's ever really been a part of my RPG experience. That said, immersion in story is a high...

Could not agree more: it certainly can depend on the game and style! As @Manbearcat notes, the NPCs mentioned above are integral to the game, so much so that we (the PCs) regularly endanger ourselves and dedicate limited resources to ensure their survival and success. In a 4E game I GMed for my...

I was just about to point this out as well, the mix of "open" vs. "hidden" clocks in Harper's home games/playtests.

Have you ever written (or read) a sonnet or haiku, etc? There's a strong argument that borders/constraints/what-have-you enhance creativity through the creation of tight focus.

Jeez, @Emerikol, you think you'd be down with that! 😉

Haven't read the beta in full yet, but the playtest of Stonetop (DW iron-age hearth fantasy hack) goes this route.

Super pressed for time, but Occam's Razor re above!

I'm not Arilyn, but I offer that Story Now games seek to minimize or eliminate the priority of fiction prior to the action of the game itself, be that GM-authored plot, setting details, or deeply-detailed character backstory. It's playing to find out: what is this world, who are these...