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Just for the sake of clarity: am I right that you've got in mind that the whole "shorter path" idea only makes sense if the GM is making relatively unconstrained decisions about the consequences, in/for the fiction, of the PC succeeding at this action or that action; and so decides that this...

I will summon @thefutilist on this: I think that one point thefutilist has made in previous posts is to contrast the relatively "closed" situation of In A Wicked Age (all the "players" are on the board from the outset, with their "best interests" laid out) with an approach like how you describe...

I mentioned Classic Traveller trading play upthread, but didn't put it in the context of GM-less play. Which is something the rules expressly flag. It relies on the players being able to use random generation for worlds, for cargoes, etc.

@AbdulAlhazred Generally I would use complexity 1 or 2 challenges in a broader context (eg combat), in which case they are generally more of an action sink than a chance to fail. With more complex skill challenges, as you say these will tend to absorb more resources. Mostly the players...

It's a decision about "weight", about the degree of focus/attention to be given, in play, to this particular matter. Which is no more arbitrary than, for instance, deciding that when the PCs crest the ridge they see 20 rather than 10 or 100 Goblins waiting to attack them (or to attach the...

Here are some examples from actual play, when I GMed a session for a parent and two kids - I've started from the list of characters, to help the best interests make sense: They are motivations/desires/goals - but authored, especially on the GM's side, to drive play by underpinning scenes that...

There is no "shorter path". The idea of a skill challenge is to establish a degree of "weight" to the attempt to achieve some overall goal. The complexity of the challenge shapes pacing - eg complexity 4 or 5 means this thing won't be resolved quickly - and hence degree of focus/attention that...

That sounds like it is in the neighbourhood of map-and-key? Though I'm not sure if video games really compare to RPGs - I don't think there's coordination of fiction in the same way, as there is not the creation of a shared imagined space.

I'm not very familiar with video games - I've heard the phrase "rogue-like", but don't know much about these games. So I don't know how they handle the establishment of scenes, and the transition from scene to scene.

I'm not sure how you're envisaging the randomly-generated content actually being introduced into play. There are different ways to do this. Some replicate map-and-key (eg Appendix A random dungeon generation). And some rely upon map-and-key. For instance, a hexcrawl with random encounters...

Here is the relevant rules text, from p 6 of In A Wicked Age (I've elided some stuff that deals with particular mechanics and examples): Naming your characters’ best interests GM, you start. Start with one of your strongest NPCs, and name two best interests for her. Each should represent a...

The post is about how latent scenes are established, and how latent scenes become "activated"/"triggered" and hence actual episodes of play. Player-driven map-and-key is one way of doing this (see eg Gygax's PHB). GM-driven map-and-key is one way of doing this (see eg a number of the...

The OP does not say what you say that it says:

I agree with you about being forward facing, so the players don't have to guess the stakes. When the skill system is leveraged in the manner of a 4e D&D skill challenge, it also tends to be the players who set the "local" stakes for those checks. Or at least influence them significantly, in...

The version of this I'm most familiar with is the 4e skill challenge. Just thinking it through, the challenge consists of: *A threat to be overcome, or an overall goal - in my experience, in a complex challenge (eg 10 or 12 successes required), this can itself evolve as the challenge unfolds...

I know the rules/procedures for AW fronts better than DW fronts. But I think they're fairly similar, so I'll take the risk of talking about them generally. Pull me up if you think this is an error! The GM is expressly told that a front is not a scene, or series of scenes, to frame PCs into. The...

A lot of thinking and discussion about the play of RPGs seems to default to an assumption of map-and-key play. Here is what I mean by map-and-key: * The GM prepares a map; * The GM keys the map - that is, there are notes about what is to be found, or what is happening, at various...

Yes, I know. That was my point.

What you call a "mental map" some of us just call memory. But suppose that he had never travelled in Moria, but had read a description (much like the one found in the novel). Then by learning what chamber he was in, he learned a way out. Furthermore, you seem to contradict yourself: "He didn't...

But is your assertion that this action declaration can't be resolved in MHRP. Why not? What are the character's Milestones? What is the effect die that is intended to flow from the action declaration you're imagining?