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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9521861" data-attributes="member: 42582">The paradigm of "GM story hour", as Tuovinen discusses it, is Tracy Hickman's DL modules.Those are a long way from Apocalypse World. I would have assumed they're also a long way from Ironsworn.So I don't think I'm following you.I'm not sure what "narrative control" is referring to, here. I'm most familiar to seeing that used to describe a player introducing elements into the fiction, especially (though not solely) by <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/4/" target="_blank">"director stance"</a> proclamations:In Director stance, a person determines aspects of the environment relative to the character in some fashion, entirely separately from the character's knowledge or ability to influence events. Therefore the player has not only determined the character's actions, but the context, timing, and spatial circumstances of those actions, or even features of the world separate from the characters.But it seems like you might be using it a bit differently?In any event, I was reminded of the following from <a href="https://playsorcerer.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/the-interactive-toolkit-part-three-character-character-character/" target="_blank">Christopher Kubasik's Interactive Toolkit</a>:The rules and wargaming baggage of most roleplaying games lead to a certain kind of story: stories filled with ambitionless mercenaries who wait around in bars for employment; heroes who have no reason to get out of bed in the morning but for the vile plans of a someone they’ve never met; and stories that stop in mid-narrative for lengthy, tactical tactical-laden fights. In contrast to roleplaying, we’re discussing in this series Story Entertainments. These improvised stories are similar in nature to roleplaying games, but are driven by the emotions and personal goals of the characters and make combat a relatively small portion of the story’s content. The tales of a story entertainment are based not on the success of actions, but on the choice of actions; not the manipulation of rules, but the manipulation of narrative tools. The primary tool is Character. Characters drive the narrative of all stories. However, many people mistake character for characterization. Characterization is the look of a character, the description of his voice, the quirks of habit. Characterization creates the concrete detail of a character through the use of sensory detail and exposition. By “seeing” how a character looks, how he picks up his wine glass, by knowing he has a love of fine tobacco, the character becomes concrete to our imagination, even while remaining nothing more than black ink upon a white page. But a person thus described is not a character. A character must do. Character is action. That’s a rule of thumb for plays and movies, and is valid as well for roleplaying games and story entertainments. This means that the best way to reveal your character is not through on an esoteric monologue about pipe and tobacco delivered by your character, but through your character’s actions. But what actions? Not every action is true to a character; it is not enough to haphazardly do things in the name of action. Instead, actions must grow from the roots of Goals. . . . Clearly, every roleplaying session has something the characters want: a treasure, the kidnapped heiress, the destruction of a supply depot. These, in the context of story entertainments, are Objectives. Objectives are interchangeable. At best they are steps toward the goal, at worst they are busy-work, and thus not worth telling a story about. What is worth telling a story about? Goals. Goals are an integral part of the character; they define who the character is. Without a goal a character has no reason to get out of bed in the morning. Or, should he stumble out of bed in order to get to his job at the toy factory, he still is not worth following. He is not a character. He is living out his life as person, but not the driving force of a story. When a character overcomes obstacles and achieves an Objective, the story is over, but the character is still going. He is going until he achieves that Goal. For the purposes of roleplaying games, this is good news, because we like to keep our characters around for many stories. Give your character a large enough goal – avenging the death of your brother killed by the King of the Dark Dominion, and you’ll be able to play out several Objectives before your Goal is met. . . . Characters Should Be Problem Magnets. To begin with, you need to allow your character to get into trouble in the pursuit of his or her Goal. Remember, this Goal matters so much it defines the character. Without it, your character would no longer be himself or herself. Because this Goal is so vital your character can indulge in all sorts of ridiculous, extraordinary, and even dangerous behavior in pursuit of this goal. We’re not looking for the characters who want what is safe and steady, who can rationalize their Goals out of existence because it might mean trouble. We want characters who throw themselves with wild abandon into their desires, dreams and passions! Be surprising! Let your character’s passions and Goals drive him to actions that calmer men would not commit. . . . As the designer of the character you shouldn’t simply depend on the Fifth Business (the “gamemaster” of a story entertainment) to provide you with trouble. You should look for trouble for your character. . . . in a story entertainment you’re not the passive passenger in the gamemaster’s roller coaster. You are a co-creator with the Fifth Business and the other players of a story.</blockquote>

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