Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
A GMing telling the players about the gameworld is not like real life
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7572535" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>No, they're not MEAT.</p><p></p><p>None of them forces a hard decision. None of them puts your values - PC or player - to the test. None generates any pressure <em>here and now</em>.</p><p></p><p>Which you seem to agree with, here:</p><p></p><p>This is obviously wrong. Watch Casablanca - drama is the norm. Rick has to make hard decisions (about whether to help the young couple; about whether to support the Nazis; about whether to go with Ilsa; etc). That doesn't make it not dramatic - Casablanca is one of the great dramas of all time!</p><p></p><p>Of course real life isn't terribly dramatic for many of us much of the time. But RPGs are fictions, and the ones I play are adventure fictions where exciting and challenging and dramatic things are the norm. And I'm not yet jaded, as <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?657595-I-really-enjoyed-today-s-Classic-Traveller-session" target="_blank">this report of the session I GMed today</a> will reveal. (Upthread, [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION] asked how one would handle separated groups other than by precise tracing of times - this play report provides an example of an alternative approach, based on GM's sense of pacing/narrative imperatives.)</p><p></p><p>Why normal stuff? And what is "normal stuff" in the context of an adventure-oriented RPG?</p><p></p><p><em>Going to the library and do research on items that can make me a king</em> doesn't seem very normal to me. Nor does <em>going to the local lord and try to ingratiate myself with him to gain status</em>. The difference between those things, and what I described, is that - on the face of it - those things are <em>safe</em> because nothing is really at stake. It's all <em>maybe</em> and <em>in due course</em>. Which is precisely what I'm saying it has not MEAT.</p><p></p><p>EDIT: I read this post by AbdulAlhazred:</p><p></p><p>The idea of a narrative <em>centred</em> on a PC goal, and offering the possbility of <em>ambition</em> and <em>taking great risks</em>, seems pretty close to my take on MEAT.</p><p></p><p>Asking the GM about what the books in the library say, and roleplaying interactions with NPCs whom the GM has established with no particular dramatic orientation towards my PC, doesn't seem to involve either of those things. Nor the real risk of <em>failure</em>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7572535, member: 42582"] No, they're not MEAT. None of them forces a hard decision. None of them puts your values - PC or player - to the test. None generates any pressure [I]here and now[/I]. Which you seem to agree with, here: This is obviously wrong. Watch Casablanca - drama is the norm. Rick has to make hard decisions (about whether to help the young couple; about whether to support the Nazis; about whether to go with Ilsa; etc). That doesn't make it not dramatic - Casablanca is one of the great dramas of all time! Of course real life isn't terribly dramatic for many of us much of the time. But RPGs are fictions, and the ones I play are adventure fictions where exciting and challenging and dramatic things are the norm. And I'm not yet jaded, as [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?657595-I-really-enjoyed-today-s-Classic-Traveller-session]this report of the session I GMed today[/url] will reveal. (Upthread, [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION] asked how one would handle separated groups other than by precise tracing of times - this play report provides an example of an alternative approach, based on GM's sense of pacing/narrative imperatives.) Why normal stuff? And what is "normal stuff" in the context of an adventure-oriented RPG? [I]Going to the library and do research on items that can make me a king[/I] doesn't seem very normal to me. Nor does [I]going to the local lord and try to ingratiate myself with him to gain status[/I]. The difference between those things, and what I described, is that - on the face of it - those things are [I]safe[/I] because nothing is really at stake. It's all [I]maybe[/I] and [I]in due course[/I]. Which is precisely what I'm saying it has not MEAT. EDIT: I read this post by AbdulAlhazred: The idea of a narrative [i]centred[/I] on a PC goal, and offering the possbility of [I]ambition[/I] and [I]taking great risks[/I], seems pretty close to my take on MEAT. Asking the GM about what the books in the library say, and roleplaying interactions with NPCs whom the GM has established with no particular dramatic orientation towards my PC, doesn't seem to involve either of those things. Nor the real risk of [I]failure[/I]. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
A GMing telling the players about the gameworld is not like real life
Top