D&D General The Great Railroad Thread

[KYRON45]

How sensetive people are to threaddrift--varies considerably.

How sensitive anyone is to anything varies considerably.

 

[Thomas Shey]

How sensitive anyone is to anything varies considerably.

Yeah, but thread drift is one of those things that tends to have kind of broad impact in what occurs on fora. Ironically in a way that actually relates to this thread topic in kind of a roundabout way.

 

[KYRON45]

Yeah, but thread drift is one of those things that tends to have kind of broad impact in what occurs on fora. Ironically in a way that actually relates to this thread topic in kind of a roundabout way.

Thankfully this conversation is on the rails.

 

[soviet]

That is definitely not a sentiment most anyone who is a fan of Narrativist play would agree with. The most central principle is something along the lines of "be a curious explorer of the fiction" or "keep the story feral". The basic idea is that the GM sets the scene but once the scene is set we are all playing to find out what happens. No one has an agenda for how it plays out.

Keep the story feral! Wow, I will try to remember that one, that's great.

 

[kermit4karate]

Fair enough. For me, the past 15 years of discussion here have helped me to try multiple new systems at my tables, and identify what practices lead to the best table experiences.

Both my DMing and playing is better for the discussions I've had here.

I see that.... I'm certainly getting exposure to personality types I can more easily recognize now and endeavor to avoid.

But seriously, there are occasionally diamonds amidst the bits of coal. Thank you for being a diamond.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

That's just one too many "isms" for me. Now we're drawing a firm distinction between narrativism and thespianism?? How about masochism? -- because that's how this seems to me.

Would you say there is a difference between the act of facing a challenge to something you care about/your character cares about, vs. the act of changing the sound of your voice, speaking dialogue chosen for dramatic effect, and "selling" a scene as having a certain emotional color and texture?

Because if you do think those things are meaningfully different, then despite your dislike of "isms", it would seem you recognize the difference between "narrativism" and "thespianism".

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Truthfully, most of these discussions don't do that. These are primarily ego stroking and self-soothing.

Seems a bit of a jaundiced view to me....

 

[soviet]

I mean if I'm engaged in Trad Play it doesn't matter if I think the scene would get cooler if even more orcs showed up from the next room when the text says the next room is empty. Considerations about what would be "cool" or "exciting" don't come into play. In Trad Play you are trying to simulate a world based on its internal fiction. In narratives play, that's not true at all.

This is only true of some trad play. In other trad play like Vampire (and increasingly I suggest modern D&D) this would be absolutely fine.

Note that even the idea of having a detailed map, or encounters with random orcs, would be utterly anathema to many narrativist games.

Guess the game:

I'm not going play a guessing game. Make a point or don't.

Conch passing as you call it will show up in some narrativist games. Which narrativist games are you familiar with?

In play mostly HeroQuest and my own design Other Worlds. A bit of Blades in the Dark. As texts Burning Wheel, Dogs, Sorcerer, Apocalypse World. I've also played Elfs but not sure how to characterise it.

 

[kermit4karate]

Would you say there is a difference between the act of facing a challenge to something you care about/your character cares about, vs. the act of changing the sound of your voice, speaking dialogue chosen for dramatic effect, and "selling" a scene as having a certain emotional color and texture?

Because if you do think those things are meaningfully different, then despite your dislike of "isms", it would seem you recognize the difference between "narrativism" and "thespianism".

As a thought exercise to scratch an itch on a community forum, maybe. As they pertain to most TTRPGs like D&D or Daggerheart, practically speaking, it's hard to imagine a fun time at a table involving one without the other.

 

[kermit4karate]

Seems a bit of a jaundiced view to me....

Meh. I retract the "most" part. I shouldn't have said "most" are primarily ego stroking and self-soothing. It's probably closer to 15%.