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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8957891" data-attributes="member: 6696971">I know what its like to GM games where PCs are merely game pieces and the only thing that matters is “score” (therefore the two points of duress are “did we eek out our best payoff in this level = crawl” and “game over = PC death”). I’ve GMed that in abundance.Its not difficult to change that while still playing a vitality-infused game. You just (a) remap what “best score in this level” looks like (and that necessarily includes a robust mechanical remap), (b) let the stakes flow naturally from that remapping, and (c) situate the players so that they’re dictating the nature of (a) and (b) (the nature of protagonism in this game). Then you play their adversity/opposition as hard/aggressively as possible (just like you do in the initial “score” and “game over” setup).Done.Now relationships and values/ideas/beliefs can matter in the visceral way that “score” and “game over” matter in the alternative setup.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 8957891, member: 6696971"] I know what its like to GM games where PCs are merely game pieces and the only thing that matters is “score” (therefore the two points of duress are “did we eek out our best payoff in this level = crawl” and “game over = PC death”). I’ve GMed that in abundance. Its not difficult to change that while still playing a vitality-infused game. You just (a) remap what “best score in this level” looks like (and that necessarily includes a robust mechanical remap), (b) let the stakes flow naturally from that remapping, and (c) situate the players so that they’re dictating the nature of (a) and (b) (the nature of [I]protagonism[/I] in this game). Then you play their adversity/opposition as hard/aggressively as possible (just like you do in the initial “score” and “game over” setup). Done. Now relationships and values/ideas/beliefs can matter in the visceral way that “score” and “game over” matter in the alternative setup. [/QUOTE]

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