Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 6056206" data-attributes="member: 67">Lesson 18: Embrace the surreal.I've talked a little bit about how consistency is a friend to the DM who has little time for prep.&nbsp; That may, at first, seem to be at odds with the suggestion I'm about to present, but hang in there, it'll all make sense.Don't get hung up on the notion of &quot;realism.&quot;&nbsp; It's a highly subjective concept, anyway.&nbsp; In this thing we call the &quot;real world,&quot; we have our own networks of illusion.&nbsp; In a world with actual magical illusions...well, it's an over-rated concept, is all I'm sayin'.Now, that doesn't mean you should throw out verisimilitude.&nbsp; But, verisimilitude doesn't equate to &quot;realism,&quot; anyway.&nbsp; What it does require is an internal consistency within the context of your setting—something you should be aiming for anyway, because it makes your job easier.It is entirely possible to maintain an internal consistency while embracing surreal elements in your game, if these elements are an accepted part of whole.&nbsp; The benefits of doing so in a low-prep sandbox (a &quot;streamlined sandbox&quot;) are profound, because trying to simulate &quot;reality&quot; is usually both a futile effort, and lots of work!Don't get me wrong.&nbsp; Your rulings should be consistent and fair—that's the kind of consistency that helps your game run smoothly!&nbsp; Reality, though...just don't expect your players to see the same reality as you do!Players have different viewpoints.&nbsp; If you can find a way to play with expectations, or play one set of perceptions against another, your game will be that much richer, and your players will probably be, at the very least, intrigued.Players have faulty memories.&nbsp; Details shift over time, sometimes even the big ones.&nbsp; You can let this inevitability derail things, but consider incorporating these oddities into your game, instead.I've run games set within dreams to great effect, but you don't have to go that far.&nbsp; It's a world of illusions.&nbsp; The players can never be absolutely sure what is &quot;real&quot; within the world and what is not.Furthermore, your game is a story.&nbsp; You can evoke something of a folktale feel by presenting different versions of a story from time to time—or at least presenting the concept that different versions exist.&nbsp; The very nature of a folktale is that it has been passed along from one generation to the next through many people.&nbsp; Each telling necessarily has a different perspective.&nbsp; There is room in your game to do the same.The important thing is, you don't have to do anything specific to make things feel surreal.&nbsp; But when something surreal presents itself, don't shut it down; work it into your game!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rune, post: 6056206, member: 67"] [b]Lesson 18: Embrace the surreal.[/b] I've talked a little bit about how consistency is a friend to the DM who has little time for prep. That may, at first, seem to be at odds with the suggestion I'm about to present, but hang in there, it'll all make sense. Don't get hung up on the notion of "realism." It's a highly subjective concept, anyway. In this thing we call the "real world," we have our own networks of illusion. In a world with actual [i]magical[/i] illusions...well, it's an over-rated concept, is all I'm sayin'. Now, that doesn't mean you should throw out [i]verisimilitude[/i]. But, verisimilitude doesn't equate to "realism," anyway. What it [i]does[/i] require is an internal consistency within the context of your setting—something you should be aiming for anyway, because it makes your job easier. It is entirely possible to maintain an internal consistency while embracing surreal elements in your game, if these elements are an accepted part of whole. The benefits of doing so in a low-prep sandbox (a "streamlined sandbox") are profound, because trying to simulate "reality" is usually both a futile effort, and [i]lots[/i] of work! Don't get me wrong. Your rulings [i]should[/i] be consistent and fair—that's the kind of consistency that helps your game run smoothly! [i]Reality[/i], though...just don't expect your players to see the same reality as you do! [i]Players have different viewpoints.[/i] If you can find a way to play with expectations, or play one set of perceptions against another, your game will be that much richer, and your players will probably be, at the very least, intrigued. [i]Players have faulty memories.[/i] Details shift over time, sometimes even the big ones. You [i]can[/i] let this inevitability derail things, but consider incorporating these oddities into your game, instead. I've run games set within dreams to great effect, but you don't have to go that far. It's a world of illusions. The players can never be [i]absolutely[/i] sure what is "real" within the world and what is not. Furthermore, your game is a story. You can evoke something of a folktale feel by presenting different versions of a story from time to time—or at least presenting the concept that different versions [i]exist[/i]. The very [i]nature[/i] of a folktale is that it has been passed along from one generation to the next [i]through many people.[/i] Each telling necessarily has a different perspective. There is room in your game to do the same. The important thing is, you don't have to do anything [i]specific[/i] to make things feel surreal. But when something surreal presents itself, don't shut it down; work it into your game! [/QUOTE]

Verification