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Message: <blockquote data-quote="zakael19" data-source="post: 9325433" data-attributes="member: 7044099">I'll give you a comparison from my experience as I start running more "narrative" games, compared to also being a DM for some extremely NeoTrad / OC style sessions (which are absolutely exhausting - that last paragraph in [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] 's post resonates extremely strongly with me):- In our first Stonetop session on Sunday that was actual play and not just character/world state building we did a lot of RPing with plenty of in-character moments. However, it was all spurred off something that was leading somewhere. Eg: GM soft moves (lots of asking provocative questions, revealing of unwelcome truths, revealing of simmering tensions) that create a situation that impels the character to respond with concrete actionable items that the DM can then grab and volley back, or pivot to another character. Each moment and interaction either defined the character more completely, enhanced or changed relationships with NPCs, or drove the narrative forward in new ways. No time is wasted on circular conversations, and time is our most precious resource in life.By the end of our 3 hour session, we'd defined a host of new details about things that interested the  players, created new NPCs that will have lasting moments to play, and I left feeling energized because of how much of the cognitive load is shared - all I have to do is ask questions either as the GM or as an NPC and the players have inherent drives and desires to respond with. Players were redefining or refining their character conceptions in the moment as they were challenged on instinct and action, the very soul and essence of roleplaying.-3 hours of 5e WOTC module play on Monday. I've already done a bunch of sketch work to add content because the WOTC module is fundamentally lacking in hooks. I have to reach out through the computer and try to pull players forward. RP is back and forth talking that could've been resolved in a pair of sentences and a quick roll in a PBTA to drive the action. We don't really define anything interesting about teh world, I drop hooks and wait for the players to express interest or not. The players have little in the way of instincts/backgrounds to lean on for game state connection. I'm left drained, having to constantly adjudicate questions + figure out if the limited desires expressed fit into any of the content and make something up if it doesn't (and I have nothing to lean on if it doesn't, no setting book with clear ideas - no character wants and needs to challenge, no clear moves resultant from a player roll outcome, etc). Nothing really changes in the game state (per module: if the players complete this quest by...failing to find anything, they get an offer from the faction to join! ... in 7 days) , nothing changes in characterizations, nothing feels meaningful.</blockquote>

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