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ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RenleyRenfield" data-source="post: 9872947" data-attributes="member: 7044197">I think maybe there is a lot being lost here, dunno where you got any of that.Let's recap.You wanted an example of how metacurrency was more than mere "player wants extra power/control over game" so I gave that.You wanted to know how MHR tied its meta currency to in-game and in-world meaning.  So I gave examples.So then you now want to know what "Diving force is"....When a author writes a comic, they never start with a list of numerical anything.  full stop. They, as Stan Lee said, "Think of the stories."   They start with "what would be a cool tale to tell here and what characters are involved.So narrative drives the events.  Whatever the author wants to tell, is what we get to see happen.   And at no point do they do anything more than a gut check for power levels, world physics etc.   Again, see Wolverine fight Galactus, its silly with how much it blows past reality.Now let's consider that from ttrpg perspective.   We are doing the same thing.  the only difference is that we want there to be a quantitative amount of 'unknown'.   We want to be half author and half reader. We want to say what we want to see take place, and then we want the unknown to tell us how it turned out.So in MHR they do this by establishing values and mechanics based on narrative results. Hulks D12 strength is cool, but Spiderman has only D8 strength.   Just like the comics, we see that Hulk is stronger.  cool.So we then build our dice pools, we roll dice and we see what happens when Hulk attacks Spiderman.  with simple roll off, the dice give us a winner, one or the other.   But that  is not a great story, not the story we want to tell.   we want to see a movie worthy, epic, multi battle clash.  Which means that strength stat is just not enough here.And no amount of extra stats would ever be enough.You could add Dex, and Stamina, and Wits, and a thousand skills - and still the author would think of something those rules would not cover.So in we get meta currency.This is is where we get how the author (player) description of what happens, can now cover a wider array of creative actions, than a thousand hard-and-fast rules can.The meta currency has rules, it has limits its is part of the mechanics AND the fiction in-world.So now we see the player of Spiderman using their plot points to make Hulk laugh, show him mirrors and ultimately de-angry the hulk = hulk is defeated.  or maybe we see webbing used to slow Hulk down while reinforcements are called, or maybe we see  the Hulk trying to smash but not kill, and maybe we see dams break and wash the battle into the bay, and soooo many other things can and do happen in comics.Notice how at no point is the real-world values or "how many lbs can Spiderman lift" a hard limit on creativity here?    because at any time, EXACTLY like the comic is this from - we see the author - the narrative - take control of events and make the situation dynamic in a way that follows "what a series of clever actions and counters and events!".And never are we limited to = "oh he rolled a crit and has 4d6 damage its all over in one hit!"So meta currency aids with overcoming the dice where needed.  BUT it also aids in adding actions or events or elements/people where the narrative (players) deem best.Notice also how I never said 'none of anything not important'.It's ALL important = and its ALL driven by the narration of players.driven means "there are tools and rules, but they are at the command of the players"And metcurrency is one excellent way to ensure the players have the command they need to achieve the fun they desire.</blockquote>

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