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Introducing Complications Without Forcing Players to Play the "Mother May I?" Game
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<blockquote data-quote="Alexander Kalinowski" data-source="post: 7559158" data-attributes="member: 6931283"><p>Just skimming over the thread, I am confused by the discussion.</p><p></p><p>Due to the very nature of the RPGs, the GM has broad discretion with regard to what's happening. Under normal circumstances, I expect a GM simply to determine what's going to happen based on his understanding of the game world. Of course that is not the same as a real simulation - but it needn't be. So if you're going to a bar or whatever and want to see if a member of some organization is present, I would expect the GM to determine the likelihood of that being the case and giving the dice a roll (which, btw, is part of why I consider percentile dice the best). 30% chance of one or more members present? Alright, let's roll d100. </p><p></p><p>Now, the tricky part is (and this is where I think MMI comes in) that the GM sometimes needs to (subtly) steer the flow of the game. If the players are endlessly stuck in an investigation, then it might be alright to help them out. In such a case, a GM in the above situation might make a covert d100 roll, disregard the results, and declare a member of super-secret organization present any way - to advance the plot.</p><p></p><p>So, the GM </p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">simulates the game world based on his subjective understanding; and,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">needs to be given <em>some</em> leverage to ensure the game remains on-track.</li> </ol><p></p><p>The problem is that <u>#2 can be abused</u> (by bad, whimsical GMs). But <u>so can be accusations of Mother-May-I</u> (by bad players).</p><p></p><p>I don't think it makes sense to look at an abstract situation and call it MMI or not. The question is if a concrete GM in a concrete situation is being whimsical or has good reasons for not strictly sticking to impassionately and impartially simulating the game world.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alexander Kalinowski, post: 7559158, member: 6931283"] Just skimming over the thread, I am confused by the discussion. Due to the very nature of the RPGs, the GM has broad discretion with regard to what's happening. Under normal circumstances, I expect a GM simply to determine what's going to happen based on his understanding of the game world. Of course that is not the same as a real simulation - but it needn't be. So if you're going to a bar or whatever and want to see if a member of some organization is present, I would expect the GM to determine the likelihood of that being the case and giving the dice a roll (which, btw, is part of why I consider percentile dice the best). 30% chance of one or more members present? Alright, let's roll d100. Now, the tricky part is (and this is where I think MMI comes in) that the GM sometimes needs to (subtly) steer the flow of the game. If the players are endlessly stuck in an investigation, then it might be alright to help them out. In such a case, a GM in the above situation might make a covert d100 roll, disregard the results, and declare a member of super-secret organization present any way - to advance the plot. So, the GM [LIST=1] [*]simulates the game world based on his subjective understanding; and, [*]needs to be given [I]some[/I] leverage to ensure the game remains on-track. [/LIST] The problem is that [U]#2 can be abused[/U] (by bad, whimsical GMs). But [U]so can be accusations of Mother-May-I[/U] (by bad players). I don't think it makes sense to look at an abstract situation and call it MMI or not. The question is if a concrete GM in a concrete situation is being whimsical or has good reasons for not strictly sticking to impassionately and impartially simulating the game world. [/QUOTE]
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