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I took "because GM" to mean "arrogantly unwilling to give reasons or listen to players' points, Do It Because I Said So In Dad Voice", which I assuredly wouldn't put up with either. Maybe I'm wrong about @niklinna's intent. But yeah, if the GM ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. They're taking the...

Abso-friggin'-lutely! The table decides together. And Fate is almost infinitely kit-bashable! In fact, if you want a magic system beyond the most basic, you'll probably have to make it yourself (not that it's terribly hard). Cortex Prime requires kit-bashing to even play! As published, it's the...

I agree that "verisimilitude" is a far more appropriate and achievable goal than "realism". I question how much "realism" is even desirable to strive for in an RPG. No matter how hardcore the gamer, do they really want their guy to have a big chance of dying to infection after every fight? I'm...

It wasn't a single set of people during that whole time, but it's a fair question. One person is still around from that era, who was usually the GM. I met him in 1988. Fair. When people game together a long time, these trends do happen. However, both of us had the overwhelming impression upon...

Speaking as a guy who has done a fair bit of scientific modeling, it's definitely true that no model can ever capture reality. With cleverness, hard work, and luck, though, you can model a particular aspect of reality in a way good enough for the purposes you need it for. In much the same way...

Right. After you just got done saying how easy everything sounded, and made a snarky comment about Jurgen being a 20th level healer. (Never mind that a medium-level cleric can wipe out any amount of injury, no muss no fuss!) And who exactly are these people? Why are you bothering to bring them...

One more thing, and I have done. I spent countless hours playing B/X, AD&D, and similar games in the 80's and 90's. I've played your way A LOT. I had fun doing it, too. I've seen the question from both sides. You haven't. And I'm telling you right now that the story games I've played are FAR...

THIS is your takeaway from my long example?! No Character Death, I'll give you. But Plot Armor, Mook Foes, and Auto-Succeeding?! And you wonder why I say you don't listen. It's because you don't listen! There was no auto-succeeding in anything I described - not even a Fate point makes success...

I met a kid like that in high school. He'd make a big deal about finding an apple or whatever for his character and claim it made him a Real Roleplayer!!! While the rest of us were going, "We'd like to play too? Maybe get a word in edgewise?" Needless to say, he was only around for one session.

The character is still playable, just less effective. Characters can take up to three Consequences - mild, moderate, and severe. (These can be physical or mental.) Each of these is an aspect that opponents can potentially use against you. Mild consequences go away very quickly, moderate ones...

@bloodtide Let's start over, okay? I've been trying to think of a combat example from my games to share with you, but it's difficult, as my group generally likes to avoid combat through sneakiness and trickery. But here's one that may possibly help. In a fantasy version of Renaissance Italy, my...

Sorry, what? I'm not angry at all. But if I were, this would be an extremely unhelpful and unconstructive remark. It has nothing to do with any kind of triggering. I'm telling you, and others are telling you, that your assessment is objectively false. Nothing even slightly resembling that...

I agree that his essays are excellent. Edwards in his Forge posts has been far more intemperate at times, notoriously and egregiously so. Maybe that's changed, I haven't stopped by the Forge in quite a while.

I mean no offense, but my first reaction is that sounds like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop! ;)

Then there's Ben Robbins' games, which I gush about at every opportunity. My group's favorite of his, Kingdom, doesn't have a GM at all and doesn't use any kind of randomizer. And it also has story emerge organically from the game. I assure you that none of us would have predicted ahead of time...

Yes, EXACTLY!! They work! They facilitate a certain type of play. When I first got Fate (which wasn't the first time I played it) I was dumbstruck by how the mechanics quietly force story beats to just happen, without anyone exactly intending it. It feels almost like black magic at first! Scum...

Absolutely no question on the bias! Certain individuals there get downright insulting on the topic even from my point of view! I wish they'd realize how off-putting that is. That said, there have been some valuable insights arrived at over there. You clearly aren't understanding anything...

Musing on terminology some more... Most people who read fiction can describe the difference between first-person and third-person narratives. Many can even explain how the difference affects them and why they like one as opposed to the other. How many gamers can similarly talk about the...

I don't know that it's quite that bad. We're all playing roles, surely. But just as there are different types of fiction and different types of drama, maybe we need to be clear that there are different types of roleplaying, with different sets of expectations and demands. Just like nobody has...

I want to reiterate this point too. In contrasting styles of game, it can sometimes come across that everything in story games is Sturm und Drang - at a fever pitch all day, every day. Of course it isn't. Who could take it? When I say I want every single scene to be meaningful, I don't mean...