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Interesting Ryan Dancey comment on "lite" RPGs
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<blockquote data-quote="SweeneyTodd" data-source="post: 2387664" data-attributes="member: 9391"><p>Okay, maybe you guys can help me out here. I'll describe the mode of play in the rules-light session we played tonight, using a slight variant to Primetime Adventures. Hopefully I can get some feedback on this. (I fully expect "That's not a RPG" as one possible response, so I won't be offended.)</p><p></p><p>For reference, we played about two and a half hours (with an hour of social time and dinner before that, and a half hour of discussing future games after). We played eight to ten scenes and covered the half-dozen plot points outstanding from last session, as well as introducing several new ones.</p><p></p><p>Character sheets have a list of traits. In this game, they're usually exceptional skill or supernatural ability.</p><p></p><p>We go around the table. If it's your turn, you frame a scene, and state the conflict involved, and the stakes of that conflict. </p><p></p><p>We play for a while as usual, mixing third-person narration with first-person dialog. Various players throw in additional material, either in-character (if they have a PC in the scene), or out of character suggestions.</p><p></p><p>We reach the crux of the conflict, and we roll. One die per party in the conflict, plus one die per relevant trait involved. Winner narrates the result (what happens) and we play out the remainder of the scene (how it happens). The narration should include things like the logical consequences of the actions, of course.</p><p></p><p>Finish scene, and cut to the next scene.</p><p></p><p>As far as realism and fairness go: </p><p></p><p>Whether or not a trait is relevant to the conflict is adjudicated by the GM, but I've never had to say no. (Traits are broad, and winning a conflict through use of your Underwater Basket-weaving trait would require you to narrate how that happened, so it doesn't come up.) The rules cover all possible conflicts that could come up (albeit using the same mechanism in all cases). The players don't feel at the whim of GM fiat, because they have as many opportunities to narrate as I do.</p><p></p><p>Comments? Sound truly awful? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I fully recognize that we're not attempting to simulate anything, except perhaps the plot structure of a TV show or movie. (Scenes tend to build in importance, with some climactic scenes near the end of the session.) But for us, it's neither arbitrary nor unrealistic. </p><p></p><p>I think what I'm finally realizing is how different my unstated assumptions for what a roleplaying game is than those of some other posters. It's probably a bigger issue than rules-light or rules-heavy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SweeneyTodd, post: 2387664, member: 9391"] Okay, maybe you guys can help me out here. I'll describe the mode of play in the rules-light session we played tonight, using a slight variant to Primetime Adventures. Hopefully I can get some feedback on this. (I fully expect "That's not a RPG" as one possible response, so I won't be offended.) For reference, we played about two and a half hours (with an hour of social time and dinner before that, and a half hour of discussing future games after). We played eight to ten scenes and covered the half-dozen plot points outstanding from last session, as well as introducing several new ones. Character sheets have a list of traits. In this game, they're usually exceptional skill or supernatural ability. We go around the table. If it's your turn, you frame a scene, and state the conflict involved, and the stakes of that conflict. We play for a while as usual, mixing third-person narration with first-person dialog. Various players throw in additional material, either in-character (if they have a PC in the scene), or out of character suggestions. We reach the crux of the conflict, and we roll. One die per party in the conflict, plus one die per relevant trait involved. Winner narrates the result (what happens) and we play out the remainder of the scene (how it happens). The narration should include things like the logical consequences of the actions, of course. Finish scene, and cut to the next scene. As far as realism and fairness go: Whether or not a trait is relevant to the conflict is adjudicated by the GM, but I've never had to say no. (Traits are broad, and winning a conflict through use of your Underwater Basket-weaving trait would require you to narrate how that happened, so it doesn't come up.) The rules cover all possible conflicts that could come up (albeit using the same mechanism in all cases). The players don't feel at the whim of GM fiat, because they have as many opportunities to narrate as I do. Comments? Sound truly awful? :) I fully recognize that we're not attempting to simulate anything, except perhaps the plot structure of a TV show or movie. (Scenes tend to build in importance, with some climactic scenes near the end of the session.) But for us, it's neither arbitrary nor unrealistic. I think what I'm finally realizing is how different my unstated assumptions for what a roleplaying game is than those of some other posters. It's probably a bigger issue than rules-light or rules-heavy. [/QUOTE]
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