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Message: <blockquote data-quote="payn" data-source="post: 9496863" data-attributes="member: 90374">I think these posts demonstrate how difficult it is to marry mechanical power to the narrative in RPGs. Often, the narrative bit is left up to folks to decide, but has no real impact on the game. At least not like the tangible mechanical impact. If you take a bad feat, or place a stat bump ineffectively, you'll know in play. There isnt really any penalty in the narrative in many RPGs that inform you one way or the other if you are doing it correctly. Now some may argue thats working as intended because the narrative should be flexible to player choice which is what ambiguity offers. Though, a lot of folks struggle with that becasue they have no visible path to indicate where the game is taking their character. Some efforts have been controversial, to say the least (cough---alignment--cough---). One interesting thing is when the narrative impacts the mechanics. I play a lot of Battletech and there is a faction in the game world that has an honor bound code. The faction has some very advanced tech and is powerful, but this is offset by their challenge one foe at a time and must follow a strict rules of combat code. This power gamer I know named Sandy, told us he uses a lot of smaller units to flood the field on purpose. The reason is that if his opponent strikes the wrong unit, they have broken the code for them. After that, they are free to act as they see fit. That is just one of the pitfalls of marrying mechanics to narrative, particularly in the face of balanced options.I was going to post something similar. This is one of the reasons I have gotten very invested in campaign player's guides. I think highlighting not just the mechanics, but how they relate to the narrative that is going to be included in the campaign aids better play amongst the concepts. It's also why I often include faction scores to represent the players interacting with groups of the setting. As the PCs gain reputation, they will get increased authority, influence, and aid. Though, as they gain more and more referential power amongst one faction, they are likely plummeting in another. The Dynamic changes play as the PCs go from neutral no bodies to allies and enemies.</blockquote>

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