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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7078590" data-attributes="member: 42582">Another example of how player's contribute to the shared fiction: in that Cortex Fantasy viking game, the PCs came to a Steading (of the giant chieftain, as it happened . . . who'd have thought?).The Scout climbed the pallisade while the others went to the gate. Mechanically, this was a check to establish an Asset - Overview of the Steading.In the next turn sequence, the Scout made a check, which included that Asset in the pool, to establish a new Asset - Giant Ox in the Barn. I can't remember exactly what his pool for this included, but it would have had his Solo affiliation (he was on his own), his Animal Spirit distinction (being a werewolf himself, he has an affinity for animals), his Enhanced Senses, and his Outdoor Expertise. As well as his Overview of the Steading.The check succeeded, and so he was able to see the giant ox in the barn, and lead it out. His next action was to try to use that ox to try and bribe the giant chieftain, but it didn't work because the giant, although Slow as Molasses, nevertheless recognised his own ox.That was fun at the table. To me, at least, it had the ring of a fairy-tale to it, or of the more light-hearted stories about Norse gods tricking giants. But I think it's very hard to have this sort of stuff occur in play if the players aren't able to introduce the fictional elements they need into the game (eg in this case, the giant ox in the barn).A strength of MHRP/Cortex for this sort of stuff is that it measure all Assets and the like in a common currency, and the same currency used to build dice pools and measure the success of resolution - so the Giant Ox in the Barn will have been a d8 or d10 (I can't remember which) asset, adding a clear, discrete benefit to the dice pool. Even if the player tries to create a "Particle Beam Weapon" asset for blowing up the giant, it will still be measured in the same currency, and provide the same benefit to the pool.Thus, there is no incentive to break genre or try to establish "unreasonable" fiction. In combination with "subjective" DCs, the system puts the emphasis on engaging the fiction to create colourful events and vignettes, rather than a classic D&D-style eking out of victory by carefully husbanding resources.This is a difference from Burning Wheel, which uses "objective" DCs, and where PCs can benefit from having beam weapons rather than oxen as their assets. That's one reason why rules like Let it Ride, or calling for a check rather than just "saying 'yes'", are more important in BW to manage player attempts to improve PCs' positions by directly contributing to the fiction. (BW also has other mechanisms, like its PC improvement rules, which create incentives for players to not always eke out every advantage that they might be able to.)</blockquote>

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