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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 9138599" data-attributes="member: 467">If a "narrative mechanic" is one that changes the story of the game or state of the fiction upon determining its result, then essentially all mechanics are narrative mechanics and it isn't a particularly useful or interesting definition. Even a failed Perception check on D&D changes the fiction by updating the game state for the players.I then fall back on the idea that a "narrative mechanic" is one that allows the Player to author something in the fiction not necessarily based on the Character doing the authoring. Sometimes it is hard to tell where the boundaries are, though. Create An Advantage in Fate feels very much like a narrative mechanic because the player is authoring the fiction in a mechanical way -- adding an Aspect. However,  there really isn't a way to do this outside of direct action in the fiction by the character. The Aspect is just a consequence of a successful action, and the player gets to decide the precise nature of the consequence. Is it really different than a character in a more traditional RPG getting to apply a status condition as the result of a successful attack?I'm just musing, by the way, not asserting anything. I think it is interesting to discuss but I don't think it is possible to come to a reliable definition or consensus.</blockquote>