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Message: <blockquote data-quote="soviet" data-source="post: 8940848" data-attributes="member: 6925338">Sure. So the game I'm talking about is Other Worlds, which I published and is available at a very reasonable price on DTRPG <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="😉" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" title="Winking face    :wink:" data-shortname=":wink:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />, but the principles would apply to any conflict resolution stake-setting type games like HeroQuest or FATE.In this style of game I don't have a map or movement rates etc so exploration is necessarily loose. The details are zoomed out. We might run a fairly abstract conflict to see if the character can get past the guards or otherwise achieve their objective without complications. I might not have any detail for those complications, beyond maybe 'there are guards on patrol', until I need them in play.Occasionally if I want to add suspense to a scene I will zoom in a lot more and try to gain a better understanding of the fictional positioning. I will describe the scene a bit more. I might even draw a (very loose) map.  I will commit in my head to what or where the danger is. Then I will ask the players to commit to where they're standing, what weapon they're holding, where are they aiming, is it cocked, etc. If they move I'll ask them to describe that move. We are very focused on the buildup to whatever's about to happen.Then 'bang' something does happen. Zombies burst in, a helicopter strafes the building, the ceiling collapses, whatever. We're now going to resolve the dramatic situation using our system, which in this case is basic conflict resolution with freeform traits and metacurrency. The moment of tension is released.So what's the purpose of all the detailed  fictional positioning? Suspense, mostly. Putting the players into the moment and making it feel real. Think about in a movie where the characters go all quiet and stealthy before entering a room. How we see the beads of sweat, the cocking of a gun, the adjustment of the stance, the raised fist as a signal to go in.But as we're playing a fairly freeform game I can also use that fictional positioning as a source of bonuses, penalties, stakes, complications. The character that was looking the right way might get a bonus to avoid the bomb blast. The character with their gun pointed downwards might still be able to shoot at the feet of the enemy that tries to grab it. The character with their finger carefully away from the trigger might find it easier to avoid shooting at the harmless fox that bursts round the corner (but harder to snap fire if the fox was actually an attacker).It's not something I do all the time. A lot of my fights and exploration scenes are still run fairly fast and loose. But occasionally it can be fun to scare the players and zoom in  very close.Does that make sense?</blockquote>

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