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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8422959" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>I'm confused why I've received pushback, then. If the GM's call is the only one that matters, this definitely changes the nature of the invisible rulebook and why it's invisible. Now, the only invisible rulebook that matters is the GM's, and since it's invisible this is hidden from the players. Yet you say that the GM must be able to explain their reasoning, which cuts against the invisible rulebook because it makes it visible. We're back to the competing ideas of transparent play vs hidden play and why you'd even use an invisible rulebook at all.</p><p></p><p>Further, this entire set of play goes back to the GM making arbitrary rulings. To use your example of your game above, this highlights the kind of arbitrary rulings that are being made -- you, as GM, picked one way of many for an NPC to react and that's how the NPC reacted. The inputs where how you felt about what the player tried to do. There were other valid options, but you picked yours. I have no doubt this created an interesting game, but the process here is very much one that is arbitrary based only on what the GM thinks and not the total number of "realistic" or "genre" options available. For instance, at the end when the player shifted form coalition building to autocrat, you determined this wasn't going to go well with the vassals and the play showed the PC losing what they had built. However, that story has played out multiple times in history with a different result, and it could play out differently in fiction (and has). The choice for the direction of play at that point was up to you as the GM, based on whatever you liked at that moment, and the only nod to realism or genre was that these were possible answers. The choice of the GM to select here, based only on what they want here, is why I say these choices are arbitrary. </p><p></p><p>Gaming is full of arbitrary, though, it's not like any number of other things in other systems aren't arbitrary as well. The issue, I think, is the claim that the GM creates a better set of arbitrary outcomes when they have full authority to enforce them rather than having the player have some control via mechanical systems they can predict or through consensus building, conch passing, or direct control of the fiction. The GM is not a <em>better </em>source of "realism" or genre emulation than anyone else at the table.</p><p></p><p>"Realism" is in quotes throughout because I'm using is as "trying to model the real world or real world influenced expectations of fantasy events." I also have the feeling it just means "the GM thinks this is what should happen." Given how it's used, I'm not sure when someone else deploys this term what it's supposed to mean, so I've made sure to be clear here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 8422959, member: 16814"] I'm confused why I've received pushback, then. If the GM's call is the only one that matters, this definitely changes the nature of the invisible rulebook and why it's invisible. Now, the only invisible rulebook that matters is the GM's, and since it's invisible this is hidden from the players. Yet you say that the GM must be able to explain their reasoning, which cuts against the invisible rulebook because it makes it visible. We're back to the competing ideas of transparent play vs hidden play and why you'd even use an invisible rulebook at all. Further, this entire set of play goes back to the GM making arbitrary rulings. To use your example of your game above, this highlights the kind of arbitrary rulings that are being made -- you, as GM, picked one way of many for an NPC to react and that's how the NPC reacted. The inputs where how you felt about what the player tried to do. There were other valid options, but you picked yours. I have no doubt this created an interesting game, but the process here is very much one that is arbitrary based only on what the GM thinks and not the total number of "realistic" or "genre" options available. For instance, at the end when the player shifted form coalition building to autocrat, you determined this wasn't going to go well with the vassals and the play showed the PC losing what they had built. However, that story has played out multiple times in history with a different result, and it could play out differently in fiction (and has). The choice for the direction of play at that point was up to you as the GM, based on whatever you liked at that moment, and the only nod to realism or genre was that these were possible answers. The choice of the GM to select here, based only on what they want here, is why I say these choices are arbitrary. Gaming is full of arbitrary, though, it's not like any number of other things in other systems aren't arbitrary as well. The issue, I think, is the claim that the GM creates a better set of arbitrary outcomes when they have full authority to enforce them rather than having the player have some control via mechanical systems they can predict or through consensus building, conch passing, or direct control of the fiction. The GM is not a [I]better [/I]source of "realism" or genre emulation than anyone else at the table. "Realism" is in quotes throughout because I'm using is as "trying to model the real world or real world influenced expectations of fantasy events." I also have the feeling it just means "the GM thinks this is what should happen." Given how it's used, I'm not sure when someone else deploys this term what it's supposed to mean, so I've made sure to be clear here. [/QUOTE]
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