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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gundark" data-source="post: 6159113" data-attributes="member: 6148">I'm a therapist. I work with clients with wide variety of mental health and addictions issues. I'm also influenced quite heavily by Scott D. Miller, one of his ideas which appears to be backed up by increasing research is that the actual counselling technique matters very little in whether or not the client gets better. In fact the two biggest factors in whether a client improves is, #1 random stuff that you as a therapist have control over (they find a new job, move, start a new relationship, etc) and #2,  the quality of the relationship between you and the client (do they trust you? Are you working on their goals? Do they feel like they are being heard?). Actual counselling technique appears to matter very little. It is important that the therapist has a technique that he/she uses, and there are ones that are better/worse than others, but overall very little difference. Some presenting issues may require specific interventions, but in general terms this appears to be trueYet...considerable amounts of energy and research goes into comparing and testing different modalities across a plethora of issues and circumstances.Well what does this mean for RPGs? How much does system matter for the players to enjoy themselves? While I have my favourites systems that I tend to go with. There are the ones that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. However, I’m beginning to wonder if the actual mechanics of these games actually matter compared to the amount of fun I have playing. Back in the day I played BECMI D&D and played a just a Dwarf, or just a Thief, then 3e came along and I thought I needed feats, builds, and customization. Yet, while I had fun playing those games, I don’t think there was any difference in the quality or quantity of the fun I had. I’ve been a player in games where the rules weren’t really to my liking and yet…I had fun… and arguably maybe no more fun than I would have had if my favourite set of rules was used.  I have agonized about whether to run a game with FATE or Savage Worlds, or Cortex+, or D&D next and truth be told while some players care, others do not, and at the end of the day is the amount of fun had by the players the same regardless? Is there a meaningful difference?I think a DM/GM/Storytellers/or what ever we think too much about what system to use, and while it’s an important decision to make, I really question if it will matter as much as we think. As players if a game tanked because of the rules, would it have tanked regardless? Where there other factors at play? Was the GM motivated? Did the group buy into the campaign as described?Discuss</blockquote>

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