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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 9429053" data-attributes="member: 4937">Rulings are rules.&nbsp; Failing to write down the rules doesn't make the process of play inherently simpler or easier.&nbsp; The process of smithing and applying rulings is part of the complexity of the system.&nbsp; The only thing that makes things lighter is forgoing certain aesthetics.&nbsp; For example, &quot;Make Believe&quot; is quite light but typically is superseded as participants mature because they want more and more cooperative of competitive aesthetics (observe the processes of play of &quot;make believe&quot; while you have children small enough for it; it's very educational).&nbsp;&nbsp; By default, because they are the secret keeper, GMs have all the narrative authority which the rules do not cede to them.&nbsp; So if you want to have player narrative authority, you have to have a rules framework for supporting that of some sort because it's not fun for the same participant to both introduce the problem and its solution or even for the solution to a problem to be merely because I said so.&nbsp; All games which are fun for the player require the player to struggle to find a solution given some limited resource.&nbsp; So if you give a player fiat authority to solve problems, that authority itself requires restrictions and therefor rules describing those restrictions.&nbsp; Games with player narrative authority whether light or heavy have more rules than equivalent games without player narrative authority.&nbsp;&nbsp; Notice that agency is not remotely the same as narrative authority, as you can have tons of player agency without the player having any direct narrative authority.&nbsp; It's different to assert you can change the scene through a proposition like &quot;I want to punch Cthulhu in the face&quot; than it is to assert you can change the scene by fiat introduction of new facts.&nbsp; Agency involves the ability to change the scene by any means.&nbsp; Narrative authority is the ability to change the scene by fiat.&nbsp; Players never have fiat authority unless the game provides some framework for it, whereas GMs always have fiat authority except where the rules restrict it.&nbsp;&nbsp; A ruleless RPG is almost a contradiction in terms, in that if you had one it would cease to be an RPG and become a Bronstein which is a type of game which neither has nor needs rules because the GM has limitless fiat authority.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 9429053, member: 4937"] Rulings are rules. Failing to write down the rules doesn't make the process of play inherently simpler or easier. The process of smithing and applying rulings is part of the complexity of the system. The only thing that makes things lighter is forgoing certain aesthetics. For example, "Make Believe" is quite light but typically is superseded as participants mature because they want more and more cooperative of competitive aesthetics (observe the processes of play of "make believe" while you have children small enough for it; it's very educational). By default, because they are the secret keeper, GMs have all the narrative authority which the rules do not cede to them. So if you want to have player narrative authority, you have to have a rules framework for supporting that of some sort because it's not fun for the same participant to both introduce the problem and its solution or even for the solution to a problem to be merely because I said so. All games which are fun for the player require the player to struggle to find a solution given some limited resource. So if you give a player fiat authority to solve problems, that authority itself requires restrictions and therefor rules describing those restrictions. Games with player narrative authority whether light or heavy have more rules than equivalent games without player narrative authority. Notice that agency is not remotely the same as narrative authority, as you can have tons of player agency without the player having any direct narrative authority. It's different to assert you can change the scene through a proposition like "I want to punch Cthulhu in the face" than it is to assert you can change the scene by fiat introduction of new facts. Agency involves the ability to change the scene by any means. Narrative authority is the ability to change the scene by fiat. Players never have fiat authority unless the game provides some framework for it, whereas GMs always have fiat authority except where the rules restrict it. A ruleless RPG is almost a contradiction in terms, in that if you had one it would cease to be an RPG and become a Bronstein which is a type of game which neither has nor needs rules because the GM has limitless fiat authority. [/QUOTE]

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