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Help me "get" Forged in the Dark.
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<blockquote data-quote="Grendel_Khan" data-source="post: 8680644" data-attributes="member: 7028554"><p>That's a good point. What I should clarify is that if, say, the consequence of an action is that a NPC throws an axe at a PC, there's nothing in the system that says how much damage that knife is going to do. Based on the fiction, the PC's action, and the related roll, it's ultimately up to the GM to figure out just how bad things will be when that axe lands. Likewise, a consequence for a roll might be that a friendly NPC gets killed. No damage roll for them, no saves—it just happens, unless a PC burns resources or uses a Resistance roll to prevent or reduce the consequence. To me, that requires a huge amount of trust in the GM, especially since, as you say, the GM is the aggressive pusher of bad things.</p><p></p><p>I actually think that, as with PbtA, it's really important for players in FitD games to understand and be interested, upfront, in a game where lots of "bad" outcomes are both welcome and interesting. That, too, is a huge shift from most trad games, where you might all have a laugh over this PC death or that TPK, but you're trying to "beat" the scenario. This is why, for me, I didn't grok FitD till I thought about a certain mode of pulp storytelling—how in something like Star Wars or Indiana Jones nothing goes according to plan, everyone is making rash decisions, and there are consequences for actions that go beyond needing to catch your breath or heal up for a bit. Which isn't to say that all or even most FitD games should be high-pulp swashbuckling affairs—arguably, Blades in the Dark should never be that. But yes, the GM is going to have to hit the PCs again and again, in ways only loosely determined by game mechanics. For that to work, I think players have to really, truly feel like the GM is a fan of the players/PCs, even and especially as they're actively punching them in the face.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Grendel_Khan, post: 8680644, member: 7028554"] That's a good point. What I should clarify is that if, say, the consequence of an action is that a NPC throws an axe at a PC, there's nothing in the system that says how much damage that knife is going to do. Based on the fiction, the PC's action, and the related roll, it's ultimately up to the GM to figure out just how bad things will be when that axe lands. Likewise, a consequence for a roll might be that a friendly NPC gets killed. No damage roll for them, no saves—it just happens, unless a PC burns resources or uses a Resistance roll to prevent or reduce the consequence. To me, that requires a huge amount of trust in the GM, especially since, as you say, the GM is the aggressive pusher of bad things. I actually think that, as with PbtA, it's really important for players in FitD games to understand and be interested, upfront, in a game where lots of "bad" outcomes are both welcome and interesting. That, too, is a huge shift from most trad games, where you might all have a laugh over this PC death or that TPK, but you're trying to "beat" the scenario. This is why, for me, I didn't grok FitD till I thought about a certain mode of pulp storytelling—how in something like Star Wars or Indiana Jones nothing goes according to plan, everyone is making rash decisions, and there are consequences for actions that go beyond needing to catch your breath or heal up for a bit. Which isn't to say that all or even most FitD games should be high-pulp swashbuckling affairs—arguably, Blades in the Dark should never be that. But yes, the GM is going to have to hit the PCs again and again, in ways only loosely determined by game mechanics. For that to work, I think players have to really, truly feel like the GM is a fan of the players/PCs, even and especially as they're actively punching them in the face. [/QUOTE]
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