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I think a good broad description (if not definition) of a "narrative mechanic" is a mechanic in which someone at the table gets to choose how to more directly influence the narrative when they wouldn't couldn't otherwise do so when acting as their character.

My only criticism was that Lorraine Williams might have been better but being better than what you describe is nothing to brag about. Yes they needed restructuring and downsizing. No. Their product approach in 2e was not good and helped further send the company down the tubes.

Well it is not completely player driven but I do try to offer options such a rumors of this or that to gauge where they want to go and the type of adventure they are looking for in their game. If they have assets in game that are valuable and need defending then of course on occasion they will...

I get what you are staying. I would have thought that a natural 1 or natural 20 has meant something extra in most of D&D's history. Maybe not in the very earliest days.

Maybe I'm missing something but as DM, I've typically narrated the outcome of a 20 or 1. So if someone rolls a 20 that results in a kill, I might describe the fighters sword decapitating the enemy creature. On a 1, I might say something as simple as the creature kicks your sword out of your...

I already answered. I just explained my answer. I put 10-20 years because I did play some boothill and star frontiers in there somewhere but not for long.

If you said I could ignore playing one session two max then I could say I've never played another for 20 years. I am currently looking into GURPS but don't have time at the moment to run a campaign.

Open sandbox is an oxymoron. The term and sandbox means limited to an area, the sandbox. There is buy in from the players to stay in the sandbox which hopefully is well done and large enough. The LEGO sandbox is just sandbox. The DM builds all kinds of "adventure" opportunities in the...

I would never choose a game system because of the art. In fact if it had no art I wouldn't care. I can appreciate art but it's really not relevant to gameplay after a quick glance. The rules though do keep changing and the underlying D&D worlds. And you are right I can just play an earlier...

I think it would vary based on the type of game desired, the intelligence of the kid, and the availability of players with similar interests.

These are good examples of narrative play. The focus is not where my focus is at as a DM or my players. Remembering to bring rope is part of the skill of the game. I've had players preplan entire backpacks and then just keep that sheet for future reference. Prep is part of skill. If you can...

While a DM who can technically do anything can allow narrative play in any ruleset there are games where it is front and center. Torchbearer is one I believe though I haven't played it. In D&D, it is not there by default. Players wouldn't pick up D&D and think narrative play is the default...

That is the problem. That is not what those words mean. Stop using them that way. None of your examples have anything to do with agency. For example, if I was walking along and fell into a well and couldn't get out, I have lost zero agency. When someone mind controls me so that when I think...

It is when players can introduce new information into the game world. Narrativists would say they adhere to the agreed upon fiction boundaries but otherwise it's wide open. So a player could say, "I go into town and find my sister at the tavern where she works" and that would suddenly be a...

They add flavor to the wizard. Gandalf blowing smoke rings doesn't win the war for Middle Earth but it is still a cool feature. Though I could see a light or fire as something quite useful in off situations.

I kind of agree with Soviet here to a degree. I don't think players are thinking that in there minds. The players become their characters and the campaign world is the one they live in all the time. So for them it is like us discovering our own world. But one some cosmic scale that too is...

I think we love to have these discussions but the bottom line is they are at least two different games if not more. Some of us really value our game more than the other. Others probably float back and forth between the two. It is what it is.

I find the immersiveness of narrative games to be more akin to the immersiveness of most games in general. You can get into almost any game deeply. What sets our style of play apart and why I think D&D exploded in the 1970's as a new form of game is the immersion in a setting different from...

To me, a cantrip should be unlimited and useful but not overly useful or powerful. Turning your finger into a flame is useful but not super useful.

But actually they do. Most people can get up in the morning and drive to the coffee shop or make coffee at home. That is agency. It is not the power to do anything. It is the ability to do what you are capable of freely. And if you contract away your agency in a certain circumstance, that...