Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Judgement calls vs "railroading"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7054959" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>I know the games @<em><strong><u><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=42582" target="_blank">pemerton</a></u></strong></em> runs (I run them myself...or rather I run Mouse Guard and Torchbearer instead of Burning Wheel), so I'll jump in on this:</p><p> </p><p>1) Players do not equal audience. All parties at the table equal both participant and audience with different responsibilities. Audience only in the sense that none of us know precisely what comes next (oftentimes "precisely" is a descriptor too far).</p><p> </p><p>2) The play has a proportionately high degree of improv (governed by system) and the backstory is malleable enough that (if something has not yet been firmly established in play) it can be amended as required (with homage to established continuity) in order to escalate or establish thematic conflict/obstacles. The purpose of backstory is (a) to hook into the game's premise and (b) have just enough meat and enough agile mutability to provide obastacles/adversaries for the PCs' interests as the game evolves.</p><p></p><p>It is in no way a setting for the PCs to be chew scenery in, be passive tourists in, or to engage with"conflict/theme-neutral" stuff in.</p><p> </p><p>3) The players and the game generally establish the themes/premise. The players build their PCs which are laden with thematic interests. They "hook" the GM rather than the inverse (a primary GMing principle of these games is that "the action" is always about what the players have signaled they care about). The system then has various feedbacks that come into play when their thematic interests are at stake/made manifest. </p><p> </p><p>4) The GM's job is to (a) frame conflicts that the players have signaled their PCs care about/are interested in, (b) interpose relevant obstacles/antagonists between the PCs and their goals, (c) advocate for their obstacles/antagonists while the PCs advocate for their protagonists, (d) stridently observe the rules of the game/GMing principles, (e) coherently evolve the fiction after the conflict resolution mechanics, the players, and the GM have all had their say (and the situation has been resolved), then (e) rinse/repeat.</p><p> </p><p>It isn't "cooperative storytelling." No one who plays these games would use that descriptor (and the designers don't use that descriptor either). When it’s done deftly, the immersion factor for the players (through the siege of what their PCs care about...through their own active role in deciding how things turn out/what they're willing to put up to protect/defend it....and through the system's coherent reward cycles that plug into all of that) is extremely high. And all participants are typically surprised by what spins out of play.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 7054959, member: 6696971"] I know the games @[I][B][U][URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=42582"]pemerton[/URL][/U][/B][/I] runs (I run them myself...or rather I run Mouse Guard and Torchbearer instead of Burning Wheel), so I'll jump in on this: 1) Players do not equal audience. All parties at the table equal both participant and audience with different responsibilities. Audience only in the sense that none of us know precisely what comes next (oftentimes "precisely" is a descriptor too far). 2) The play has a proportionately high degree of improv (governed by system) and the backstory is malleable enough that (if something has not yet been firmly established in play) it can be amended as required (with homage to established continuity) in order to escalate or establish thematic conflict/obstacles. The purpose of backstory is (a) to hook into the game's premise and (b) have just enough meat and enough agile mutability to provide obastacles/adversaries for the PCs' interests as the game evolves. It is in no way a setting for the PCs to be chew scenery in, be passive tourists in, or to engage with"conflict/theme-neutral" stuff in. 3) The players and the game generally establish the themes/premise. The players build their PCs which are laden with thematic interests. They "hook" the GM rather than the inverse (a primary GMing principle of these games is that "the action" is always about what the players have signaled they care about). The system then has various feedbacks that come into play when their thematic interests are at stake/made manifest. 4) The GM's job is to (a) frame conflicts that the players have signaled their PCs care about/are interested in, (b) interpose relevant obstacles/antagonists between the PCs and their goals, (c) advocate for their obstacles/antagonists while the PCs advocate for their protagonists, (d) stridently observe the rules of the game/GMing principles, (e) coherently evolve the fiction after the conflict resolution mechanics, the players, and the GM have all had their say (and the situation has been resolved), then (e) rinse/repeat. It isn't "cooperative storytelling." No one who plays these games would use that descriptor (and the designers don't use that descriptor either). When it’s done deftly, the immersion factor for the players (through the siege of what their PCs care about...through their own active role in deciding how things turn out/what they're willing to put up to protect/defend it....and through the system's coherent reward cycles that plug into all of that) is extremely high. And all participants are typically surprised by what spins out of play. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Judgement calls vs "railroading"
Top