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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 7282205" data-attributes="member: 16814">Goodness, Tony, do you prefer the one or two knee approach?And, no, it definitely doesn't assume niche protection.  Niche protection builds in a mechanical reason to share spotlight time, but it doesn't define it or mean that games without niche protection ignore the issue of spotlight time.  Rather, it's still on the GM to frame the story in ways that engage players through their characters, using the characters traits, flaws, desires, etc.  In games that [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] likes, this is explicitly built into the game, as characters have mechanically important handles built into them that are designed to be leveraged by both the GM and player to move the story forward.  The GM's job is to frame situations that engage those handles, the player's job is to not avoid that engagement.  If one player is jumping in and forcing the story towards their handles, the GM can, and should, introduce elements that engage other players as well.  If the GM is allowing a player to dominate the game in Burning Wheel, for instance, it's because the GM is failing to use the tools made explicitly available to engage with the other players -- the GM is allowing this to happen.This, of course, addresses issues with players that care and are engaged and want to play.  If a player doesn't want to engage, then they aren't going to engage.  But that's not a matter of skill, it's a matter of caring.  When discussing skill alone, the GM has a duty to engage those players as well.Again, if @permeton wants to make the argument that disinterested and unengaged players should get as much spotlight time as engaged and interested players, there will be much less of a discussion -- more of a general agreement with an obvious statement.  Instead he staked the position that displayed skill should be rewarded with extra attention as a matter of course, to which I do take exception.  Assuming equal levels of interest, skill may result in more success, but it shouldn't result in more spotlight.</blockquote>

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