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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 8285978" data-attributes="member: 16586">The narrative or story if you will is incidental. It's a side effect of play, but not the point of play.For character focused play the point is experiencing these moments of tension as our characters, feeling the emotional weight of it, and seeing if and how they pull through. A satisfying narrative can be a bonus, but something we emphatically do not want to be top of mind because it detracts from being present with the fiction. It's an escape valve from the weight of the moment. It's like the cave in Fight Club.[MEDIA=youtube]zvtUrjfnSnA[/MEDIA]When you let yourself be guided by what's best for the story (in this sort of play) rather than being in the moment, feeling the weight of it, you are missing out. You are going into that cave instead of being present, being curious, and being invested.For more challenge oriented play the story is also incidental. We care about testing our skill as players. Even more than that the type of stories we care most about after play are more Play of the Game type stuff. Remember when Corey's fighter did that thing that totally made that trap irrelevant. That was awesome. That requires as pristine a play environment as possible. The GM is there to advocate for their scenario, make fair rulings and play the opposition fairly so that those Play of the Game moments feel real and are earned as honestly as possible.</blockquote>