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Respect Mah Authoritah: Thoughts on DM and Player Authority in 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8444813" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I don't know what the similarity is that you're envisaging to "story now".</p><p></p><p>For instance, the following looks like it might be <em>two competing adventures</em> based on <em>two different character priorities</em>:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">* Character priority 1: <em>Find my brother's killer.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">* Character priority 2: <em>Be appointed to a magistracy</em>.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">*Adventure 1: <em>Faction A offers information about the brother's killer in exchange for raiding an outpost of Faction B.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">*Adventure 2: <em>Faction B offers to put in a good word for the character with the governor, in exchange for infiltrating the HQ of Faction A and stealing a MacGuffin.</em></p><p></p><p>But that does not look very much like "story now" play to me: the two factions seem like they could be arbitrary relative to the player priorities; likewise the outpost, and the MacGuffin.</p><p></p><p>In making my point that I've requoted here, I was assuming that if the <em>players</em> have authority then there is no real need for mediation in having the exercise of that authority reflect their priorities.</p><p></p><p>As far as mechanics are concerned, I still think that <a href="http://www.lumpley.com/hardcore.html" target="_blank">Vincent Baker said it best</a>:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Roleplaying is negotiated imagination. In order for any thing to be true in game, all the participants in the game (players <em>and</em> GMs, if you've even got such things) have to understand and assent to it. When you're roleplaying, what you're doing is a) suggesting things that might be true in the game and then b) negotiating with the other participants to determine whether they're actually true or not. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Mechanics might model the stuff of the game world, that's another topic, but they don't exist to do so. They exist to ease and constrain real-world social negotiation between the players at the table. That's their sole and crucial function.</p><p></p><p>In other words, there is not a <em>contrast</em> between <em>mechanical processes</em> and <em>authority</em>. The former are part of how the latter is (i) allocated and (ii) constrained.</p><p></p><p>For instance, it's fundamental to the experience of BW play that a player can call for a Circles check whenever his/her PC looks around hoping to encounter a helpful NPC, and that if the check succeeds then that is indeed what happens; whereas if the check fails, then the GM has licence to introduce an antagonistic NPC, or one who is a hindrance rather than a help. The GM's authority can't be described without reference to the mechanic.</p><p></p><p>Or if there is no mechanic of any sort - so the GM is free to stipulate whatever takes their fancy about which NPCs are encountered when and where, and what sorts of moods they are in - then that is also pretty relevant to getting a sense of what the play experience will be like. For instance, there will almost certainly be fewer chance encounters with helpful NPCs than occur in BW play!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8444813, member: 42582"] I don't know what the similarity is that you're envisaging to "story now". For instance, the following looks like it might be [I]two competing adventures[/I] based on [I]two different character priorities[/I]: [INDENT]* Character priority 1: [I]Find my brother's killer.[/I] * Character priority 2: [i]Be appointed to a magistracy[/i]. *Adventure 1: [i]Faction A offers information about the brother's killer in exchange for raiding an outpost of Faction B.[/i] *Adventure 2: [i]Faction B offers to put in a good word for the character with the governor, in exchange for infiltrating the HQ of Faction A and stealing a MacGuffin.[/i][/INDENT] But that does not look very much like "story now" play to me: the two factions seem like they could be arbitrary relative to the player priorities; likewise the outpost, and the MacGuffin. In making my point that I've requoted here, I was assuming that if the [i]players[/i] have authority then there is no real need for mediation in having the exercise of that authority reflect their priorities. As far as mechanics are concerned, I still think that [url=http://www.lumpley.com/hardcore.html]Vincent Baker said it best[/url]: [indent]Roleplaying is negotiated imagination. In order for any thing to be true in game, all the participants in the game (players [i]and[/i] GMs, if you've even got such things) have to understand and assent to it. When you're roleplaying, what you're doing is a) suggesting things that might be true in the game and then b) negotiating with the other participants to determine whether they're actually true or not. . . . Mechanics might model the stuff of the game world, that's another topic, but they don't exist to do so. They exist to ease and constrain real-world social negotiation between the players at the table. That's their sole and crucial function.[/indent] In other words, there is not a [i]contrast[/i] between [i]mechanical processes[/i] and [i]authority[/i]. The former are part of how the latter is (i) allocated and (ii) constrained. For instance, it's fundamental to the experience of BW play that a player can call for a Circles check whenever his/her PC looks around hoping to encounter a helpful NPC, and that if the check succeeds then that is indeed what happens; whereas if the check fails, then the GM has licence to introduce an antagonistic NPC, or one who is a hindrance rather than a help. The GM's authority can't be described without reference to the mechanic. Or if there is no mechanic of any sort - so the GM is free to stipulate whatever takes their fancy about which NPCs are encountered when and where, and what sorts of moods they are in - then that is also pretty relevant to getting a sense of what the play experience will be like. For instance, there will almost certainly be fewer chance encounters with helpful NPCs than occur in BW play! [/QUOTE]
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