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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7447702" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Definitely not interested in dying on the &quot;principled and disciplined GMing&quot; hill if it isn't useful as a term to delineate it from classic &quot;GMing by fiat.&quot;&nbsp; &quot;System-constrained GMing?&quot;&nbsp; That just rolls off the tongue.&nbsp; Should catch like wildfire.Let me rewrite the analogy to an even crappier one so we can focus on the crappiness of my analogies!On crappy analogies that serve only to distract the conversation:Instead of the pitcher and the coach, here is one; an artist and a show curator.In the first instance, the curator says &quot;create something that is moving.&quot;In the second instance, the curator gives constraints:1)&nbsp; Oil on canvas2)&nbsp; Grays and muted greens w/ a single bright color3)&nbsp; Convey the metamorphosis of profound lossOn Blades GMing:&nbsp; I'm thinking broadly here (as in informing to one degree, even if slightly, each moment of play).&nbsp; I'm thinking of the aspects of the GMing ethos which will guide and constrain which differentiate it from other games' GMing ethos (and therefore the experience in play for both the GM and the players).&nbsp; Some of these are extremely controversial (as they have been brought up many time in various forms).&nbsp; For instance:At the apex, we havePlay to find out what happens (and all the suite of actions, principles, and &quot;don't do's&quot; that play exactly into this...of which there are tons...not going to name them all as there are too many)Below that, but related we have things like Ask Questions (and use the answers)Telegraph trouble before it strikes (but follow through)Be aware of potential fiction vs. established fiction (also a part of play to find out what happens, but I wanted to put this separately)Keep the meta channel openDon't blockDon't hold back on what they earnDon't say no (go with no Effect and let them bargain the Effect up and/or Offer a Devil's Bargain)There is a lot of other stuff including things that a lot of GMs on here (who are exclusively used to trad games) would say is &quot;over&quot;empowering (such as &quot;Cut to the Action&quot; or &quot;Don't Get Caught Up In Minutae&quot; - D&amp;D 4e certainly got killed for its iteration of this indie axiom - &quot;Skip the gate guards and get to the fun!&quot;), but those above are the kinds of things I have in mind that are constraints or &quot;constraining guidance.&quot;&nbsp; Having those subtly or significantly inform each moment of play is a (given the current representation on ENWorld...unwelcome) paradigm shift for GMs who are used to the (more-or-less) all-encompassing authority/latitude (in discretion on the nature/trajectory of the fiction, on rulings, and their hefty role in action resolution) that is afforded to them in various trad games.Given that last sentence alone, I feel like constraint vs latitude/authority has to be the axis where we differentiate GMing in games like Blades vs a game like (say) D&amp;D 5e.Yes?&nbsp; No?&nbsp; Another axis?[HR][/HR]Just an amusing aside as an ironic thought came to me.&nbsp; Despite the above (disempowering or constraining aspects of Blades GMing), the game is significantly more lethal/&quot;good guys&quot; don't win-ey (in bad ways) than any D&amp;D that has ever been conceived.&nbsp; And we often see player empowerment/GM &quot;disempowerment&quot; as an &quot;EZMode&quot; epithet.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 7447702, member: 6696971"] Definitely not interested in dying on the "principled and disciplined GMing" hill if it isn't useful as a term to delineate it from classic "GMing by fiat." "System-constrained GMing?" That just rolls off the tongue. Should catch like wildfire. Let me rewrite the analogy to an even crappier one so we can focus on the crappiness of my analogies! [B]On crappy analogies that serve only to distract the conversation:[/B] Instead of the pitcher and the coach, here is one; an artist and a show curator. In the first instance, the curator says "create something that is moving." In the second instance, the curator gives constraints: 1) Oil on canvas 2) Grays and muted greens w/ a single bright color 3) Convey the metamorphosis of profound loss [B]On Blades GMing[/B]: I'm thinking broadly here (as in informing to one degree, even if slightly, each moment of play). I'm thinking of the aspects of the GMing ethos which will guide and constrain which differentiate it from other games' GMing ethos (and therefore the experience in play for both the GM and the players). Some of these are extremely controversial (as they have been brought up many time in various forms). For instance: At the apex, we have [B]Play to find out what happens[/B] (and all the suite of actions, principles, and "don't do's" that play exactly into this...of which there are tons...not going to name them all as there are too many) Below that, but related we have things like [B]Ask Questions[/B] (and use the answers) [B] Telegraph trouble before it strikes[/B] (but [B]follow through[/B]) [B]Be aware of potential fiction vs. established fiction [/B](also a part of play to find out what happens, but I wanted to put this separately) [B]Keep the meta channel open[/B] [B]Don't block[/B] [B]Don't hold back on what they earn[/B] [B]Don't say no[/B] (go with no Effect and let them bargain the Effect up and/or Offer a Devil's Bargain) There is a lot of other stuff including things that a lot of GMs on here (who are exclusively used to trad games) would say is "over"empowering (such as "Cut to the Action" or "Don't Get Caught Up In Minutae" - D&D 4e certainly got killed for its iteration of this indie axiom - "Skip the gate guards and get to the fun!"), but those above are the kinds of things I have in mind that are constraints or "constraining guidance." Having those subtly or significantly inform each moment of play is a (given the current representation on ENWorld...unwelcome) paradigm shift for GMs who are used to the (more-or-less) all-encompassing authority/latitude (in discretion on the nature/trajectory of the fiction, on rulings, and their hefty role in action resolution) that is afforded to them in various trad games. Given that last sentence alone, I feel like constraint vs latitude/authority has to be the axis where we differentiate GMing in games like Blades vs a game like (say) D&D 5e. Yes? No? Another axis? [HR][/HR] Just an amusing aside as an ironic thought came to me. Despite the above (disempowering or constraining aspects of Blades GMing), the game is [I][B]significantly more lethal/"good guys" don't win-ey (in bad ways) [/B][/I]than any D&D that has ever been conceived. And we often see player empowerment/GM "disempowerment" as an "EZMode" epithet. [/QUOTE]

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