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What Is an Experience Point Worth?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7732333" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Or, alternatively, we can extrapolate it from the result of the action resolution attempt. Are those crumbling ledges strong enough to stand on? . . . let's roll the dice and find out.</p><p></p><p>My point is that the GM cannot possibly narrate everything that might, in principle, be observed. For me to describe everything I can see, sitting here at my computer, would be utterly impractical and perhaps, in practicat terms, impossible. Even describing just everything I can see on my screen would take hundreds of words (which is minutes of narration in a RPG situation). So it's never going to happen.</p><p></p><p>But when the check fails, <em>some</em> account is needed. The GM is quite at liberty to introduce some appropriate fiction, such as a handhold that breaks away. In the real world, not every failed climb is because the climber's muscles gave way, or the climber lacked the agility to reach a hold; so why should it be that way in the gameworld? That lacks verisimilitude.</p><p></p><p>But no one is going to narrate a failed climb attempt as "The waterfall of acid, that I didn't mention until now, corroded your rope." But they might reasonably narrate it as "A sharp edge on which your rope has been rubbing cuts it through, and it breaks!"</p><p></p><p>This is how consistency is maintained - new setting information that is introduced by way of narration (of consequences; of failed checks; of new scenes that are framed) elaborates on and complements what has already been introduced, but doesn't contradict it (literally or practically). Pools of acid in plain sight aren't good narration. But a sudden break in the clouds that allows the sun to shine through may well be fair game in many circumstances.</p><p></p><p>Collaborative storytelling: I say a bit of story, then you say a bit of story.</p><p></p><p>RPGing: The GM establishes a situation, the players say what their PCs do, and the mechanics are used to find out if the PCs succeed. The GM then establishes the next situation that results, incorporating the success or failure into that new situatiom.</p><p></p><p>Collaborative storytelling does not involve such things as distinctive "player" and "GM" roles, does not involve action declaration and resolution (the player-side "game moves" of RPGing), establishing a ficitonal situation (the GM-side "game move" of RPGing), etc.</p><p></p><p>Within RPGing, we can distinguish where the ideas for the shared fiction come from: GM alone, or GM and players; and we can distinguish how action resolution is adjudicated (via transparent rules, or via the GM's reference to secret details of the ficiton that only s/he knows); and we can distinguish goals of play (eg learn the secrets of the GM's maps and notes, as in Gygaxian dungeon play; play out the GM's storyline, as in AP play; find out what the destiny of <em>these</em> characters is, as in character-focused indie-style play; etc); and so on. But these are differences within RPGing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7732333, member: 42582"] Or, alternatively, we can extrapolate it from the result of the action resolution attempt. Are those crumbling ledges strong enough to stand on? . . . let's roll the dice and find out. My point is that the GM cannot possibly narrate everything that might, in principle, be observed. For me to describe everything I can see, sitting here at my computer, would be utterly impractical and perhaps, in practicat terms, impossible. Even describing just everything I can see on my screen would take hundreds of words (which is minutes of narration in a RPG situation). So it's never going to happen. But when the check fails, [I]some[/I] account is needed. The GM is quite at liberty to introduce some appropriate fiction, such as a handhold that breaks away. In the real world, not every failed climb is because the climber's muscles gave way, or the climber lacked the agility to reach a hold; so why should it be that way in the gameworld? That lacks verisimilitude. But no one is going to narrate a failed climb attempt as "The waterfall of acid, that I didn't mention until now, corroded your rope." But they might reasonably narrate it as "A sharp edge on which your rope has been rubbing cuts it through, and it breaks!" This is how consistency is maintained - new setting information that is introduced by way of narration (of consequences; of failed checks; of new scenes that are framed) elaborates on and complements what has already been introduced, but doesn't contradict it (literally or practically). Pools of acid in plain sight aren't good narration. But a sudden break in the clouds that allows the sun to shine through may well be fair game in many circumstances. Collaborative storytelling: I say a bit of story, then you say a bit of story. RPGing: The GM establishes a situation, the players say what their PCs do, and the mechanics are used to find out if the PCs succeed. The GM then establishes the next situation that results, incorporating the success or failure into that new situatiom. Collaborative storytelling does not involve such things as distinctive "player" and "GM" roles, does not involve action declaration and resolution (the player-side "game moves" of RPGing), establishing a ficitonal situation (the GM-side "game move" of RPGing), etc. Within RPGing, we can distinguish where the ideas for the shared fiction come from: GM alone, or GM and players; and we can distinguish how action resolution is adjudicated (via transparent rules, or via the GM's reference to secret details of the ficiton that only s/he knows); and we can distinguish goals of play (eg learn the secrets of the GM's maps and notes, as in Gygaxian dungeon play; play out the GM's storyline, as in AP play; find out what the destiny of [I]these[/I] characters is, as in character-focused indie-style play; etc); and so on. But these are differences within RPGing. [/QUOTE]
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