NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7066840" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>I want to take a moment and clarify something - principled play utilizing a Storyteller approach is absolutely possible and there are several games out there that highlight various approaches.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Vampire - The Masquerade and Ars Magica are absolutely principled and require dedication, discipline, and commitment on the part of the GM/ST. I happen to think this approach is subject to some very worthy criticism when it comes to social equity and the tension that metagame aversion exhibits on play. This is considered a necesarry feature by the designers to evoke the personal horror they are seeking. I believe there are better ways to do so.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Call of Cthulhu uses a slightly different set of techniques and assumptions, but is much more up front about the types of situations PCs can meaningfully make an impact on. The sanity mechanics do much more heavy lifting. There is still a great deal of tension, but less so than Vampire.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fate makes the players into co-conspiritors in the process of building a narrative. Metagame aversion goes out the window and meaningful discussions about where an impact can be made can occur. The Fate Point economy serves as a tangible form of agency we can feel. I am not really a fan of fate, but there is far more social equity and transparency involved in the process. One common complaint is that you can see the sausage being made. Another is that we can all see where things are going in any given moment of play. There is almost no meaningful tension on display, except what we bring ourselves. Everyone is assumed to be emphatically exerting their will on the narrative.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Night's Black Agents and Trail of Cthulhu represent a different approach. We all know we are there to investigate the story and we do not have to rely on social pressure or other forms of chicanery unless the players are resisting the aims of the game. We do not make checks to find stuff out because that would run counter to players solving the mystery. There is very little tension here, largely because hopes of agency are largely dashed and the players are complicit in the act. We still do not like talk about it and make that real. There is no real social equity here.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>

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