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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6554007" data-attributes="member: 42582">I don't think you understand &quot;fail forward&quot; - it has nothing to do with &quot;continue like normal and add an extra encounter later on&quot;.Here's an example of &quot;fail forward&quot; from a <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?736425-Burning-Wheel-First-Burning-Wheel-session" target="_blank">Burning Wheel session</a> I ran last year:Jobe, having both nobility and sorcerers in his circles, and a +1D affiliation with both (from Mark of Privilege and a starting affiliation with a sorcerous cabal), initially thought of trying to make contact with the Gynarch of Hardby, the sorceress ruler of that city. But then he thought he might start a little lower in the pecking order, and so decided to make contact with the red-robed firemage Jabal (of the Cabal). With Circles 2 he attempted the Ob 2 check, and failed.
 
So, as the 3 PCs were sitting in the Green Dragon Inn (the inn of choice for sorcerers, out-of- towners and the like), putting out feelers to Jabal, a thug wearing a rigid leather breastplate and openly carrying a scimitar turned up with a message from Jabal: Leave town, now. You're marked.In this example, the wizard PC tries to make contact with a member of his cabal, fails the check, and hence the NPC's thuggish servitor turns up instead to try and run the PCs out of town. That is what &quot;fail forward&quot; means - a failed check results in a twist or complication that keeps the game moving, rather than a stall or a roadblock.You mightn't like it as an RPG technique - though from your description of it I would guess you've never actually experienced it - but it has nothing to do with laziness! It's comes out of a desire to have RPG sessions unfold a bit more like stories and a bit less like suduko puzzles.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6554007, member: 42582"] I don't think you understand "fail forward" - it has nothing to do with "continue like normal and add an extra encounter later on". Here's an example of "fail forward" from a [url=http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?736425-Burning-Wheel-First-Burning-Wheel-session]Burning Wheel session[/url] I ran last year: [indent]Jobe, having both nobility and sorcerers in his circles, and a +1D affiliation with both (from Mark of Privilege and a starting affiliation with a sorcerous cabal), initially thought of trying to make contact with the Gynarch of Hardby, the sorceress ruler of that city. But then he thought he might start a little lower in the pecking order, and so decided to make contact with the red-robed firemage Jabal (of the Cabal). With Circles 2 he attempted the Ob 2 check, and failed. So, as the 3 PCs were sitting in the Green Dragon Inn (the inn of choice for sorcerers, out-of- towners and the like), putting out feelers to Jabal, a thug wearing a rigid leather breastplate and openly carrying a scimitar turned up with a message from Jabal: Leave town, now. You're marked.[/indent] In this example, the wizard PC tries to make contact with a member of his cabal, fails the check, and hence the NPC's thuggish servitor turns up instead to try and run the PCs out of town. That is what "fail forward" means - a failed check results in a twist or complication that keeps the game moving, rather than a stall or a roadblock. You mightn't like it as an RPG technique - though from your description of it I would guess you've never actually experienced it - but it has nothing to do with laziness! It's comes out of a desire to have RPG sessions unfold a bit more like stories and a bit less like suduko puzzles. [/QUOTE]

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