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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8320970" data-attributes="member: 71699"><p>We called our games diceless (because they were), but in hindsight that wasn't really their most important feature. I mean, you can have very crunchy diceless resolution systems. Rather they worked almost entirely in narrative resolution. Epitomising to do it, do it. I didn't set out to give up any of my remit as a DM, and yet players told me how their powers worked.</p><p></p><p>Our RAW covered just a few pages, and helped everyone join in the same suspension of disbelief or shared fiction. We didn't know at the time that there was any need to write down our principles or techniques, partly because we were playing in our local circle and could just get on with doing what we were doing. I can see now - especially following the debate here - that it is crucial to write down principles and techniques if the RPG is to be used effectively by others. That wasn't our focus: we were crafting for our own use. Had I been disseminating MOLAD I would have needed to add a lot of explanation of the hows and whys, and capture far more about the intended world(s). That just wasn't a goal.</p><p></p><p>Even while diceless, Amber goes further with system, and yet I think there was more narrative resolution going on than your average RPG at the time. Ars Magica would be another example, from 1987 even. Tweet again! You can have lengthy sessions in Ars Magica where everything resolves in narrative. Even DM role rotates. The magic uses a kind of highly structured narrative resolution system, which in some respects is not far from that in Chivalry and Sorcery (if your character ever tried to cast a C&S spell they might think about giving up magic altogether!)</p><p></p><p>Just to be clear, I am agreeing with you and expanding on your point. Consider the diceless combat of Eve Online. Fully deterministic so far as I know - therefore diceless - and yet clearly constrained rather than <em>sufficiently constrained</em>. En-garde is a similarly good example. Or those Ace of Aces picture books. It's actually interesting to figure out what the difference really is? Like DW they chain together moves, and in fact those moves propel the narrative. So how does one accurately state what DW is doing that they were not? We obviously could write each DW move on a card! Your point about containing the narrative in the card seems important. DW doesn't know exactly what narrative will emerge from a move, and is far looser about what might be validly chained.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 8320970, member: 71699"] We called our games diceless (because they were), but in hindsight that wasn't really their most important feature. I mean, you can have very crunchy diceless resolution systems. Rather they worked almost entirely in narrative resolution. Epitomising to do it, do it. I didn't set out to give up any of my remit as a DM, and yet players told me how their powers worked. Our RAW covered just a few pages, and helped everyone join in the same suspension of disbelief or shared fiction. We didn't know at the time that there was any need to write down our principles or techniques, partly because we were playing in our local circle and could just get on with doing what we were doing. I can see now - especially following the debate here - that it is crucial to write down principles and techniques if the RPG is to be used effectively by others. That wasn't our focus: we were crafting for our own use. Had I been disseminating MOLAD I would have needed to add a lot of explanation of the hows and whys, and capture far more about the intended world(s). That just wasn't a goal. Even while diceless, Amber goes further with system, and yet I think there was more narrative resolution going on than your average RPG at the time. Ars Magica would be another example, from 1987 even. Tweet again! You can have lengthy sessions in Ars Magica where everything resolves in narrative. Even DM role rotates. The magic uses a kind of highly structured narrative resolution system, which in some respects is not far from that in Chivalry and Sorcery (if your character ever tried to cast a C&S spell they might think about giving up magic altogether!) Just to be clear, I am agreeing with you and expanding on your point. Consider the diceless combat of Eve Online. Fully deterministic so far as I know - therefore diceless - and yet clearly constrained rather than [I]sufficiently constrained[/I]. En-garde is a similarly good example. Or those Ace of Aces picture books. It's actually interesting to figure out what the difference really is? Like DW they chain together moves, and in fact those moves propel the narrative. So how does one accurately state what DW is doing that they were not? We obviously could write each DW move on a card! Your point about containing the narrative in the card seems important. DW doesn't know exactly what narrative will emerge from a move, and is far looser about what might be validly chained. [/QUOTE]
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