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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7062283" data-attributes="member: 16586">I know I already responded to this, but I want to go at it from another angle. There are definitely what I feel are substantive differences of approach between my most preferred approach, and the approach that  [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] has talked about in this thread. I think I am more interested in the lived experience, moments of introspection, and slightly more interested in serial exploration of the fiction than  [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION]. My favorite Powered By The Apocalypse games are Apocalypse World, Saga of the Icelanders, Monsterhearts, Masks, and The Veil. These are all games that focus on personal, emotional content where the PCs are not really assumed to be in lock step and might often come in conflict with one another. I am not as big on Dungeon World or The Sprawl, which are more "go to the action" and group-oriented games. I am not as conflict oriented and probably enjoy more overt conflict between player characters. That comes from a steady diet of World of Darkness play, including some LARP experience. The characters lives can be not boring in ways that do not necessitate constantly raising the stakes. Where I think we absolutely agree is focusing most of the interest of play on the other players' characters and focusing it on the decisions players make.At least in my case, this preference does not come from a desire to be placed in a subservient role where none of my interests are met. I feel that when Vincent Baker instructs the MC to be a fan of the players' characters in Apocalypse World he is not messing with you. He is not telling you to place their interests before your own! He is telling you to really and meaningfully take an interest in these characters and the decisions players are making. You ask provocative questions because you legitimately want to know more, to feel in your bones who these characters are. You want to know what their struggles are. You want to see how they deal with adversity. You place them in situations where they need to make difficult decisions because seeing how they respond is the whole point! For me it all comes down to really valuing what the other players have to say in a way that is vital to the whole experience of play. I am generous with the truth because I want the whole experience to have meaning.The game also provides me with plenty of opportunities to showcase my own interests. This is primarily done with fronts. Fronts are these dynamic powerful things. With fronts I get to say what interests me, and then the other players engage them as suits their interests. If they choose not to engage I follow my agenda and principles, and there are meaningful consequences. I get to have my say and the other players get to have their say. It's great!One of the reasons why I took to this set of techniques is because I am not really interested in carrying the game on my back. I expect the other players to bring it too! I tried doing things The White Wolf way and felt constantly drained, had a bitter attitude towards my fellow players, and grew increasingly frustrated that the game was not living up to my expectations. Before I discovered scene framing through Burning Wheel and applied a variety of its techniques to 4e I constantly blamed myself and my players at the time for what I felt was a sterile, overly expository experience where things like turtling and avoiding conflict were commonplace. My players were mostly fine with things, but I was suffering. Managing my games involved so much work and I was missing out on the experience of discovery, dramatic tension, and playing the game. I really enjoyed my time running 4e, but I still felt like I was putting in way too much work for the payoff and was not getting the emotional payoff from play I craved. Then  [MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] ran a short play by post game of Dungeon World for me and  [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION]. It fell apart mostly because play by post, but everything started to click. Dungeon World led me to Apocalypse World which led me to Monsterhearts and a host of other games. Once I internalized the principles things just kind of fell into place. Things just stopped being so much work for me and the other players!Things aren't perfect. Sometimes I mess up and don't follow my principles or the framing is off or we don't bring it like they should. There are always going to be uninspired sessions. Still, I'm having more consistently good experiences and working so much less for it. It's not for everybody. We all have our preferences. Diversity in the hobby is a wonderful thing! The great thing is that because the games are so prep light they don't have to take the place of regular sessions. You can have a Powered By The Apocalypse night in lieu of a board gaming night. Also, because everything is laid out so clearly it's a great tool for teaching new GMs.I also do not always play Powered By The Apocalypse games or even other games run that way, but I find even when playing in other styles it has made me a more thoughtful player and GM. It has taught me to meaningfully value others contributions, play less selfishly, and turtle less. It has also taught me the value of not over planning and being more flexible in my play.</blockquote>

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