When Player Driven Adventures Don't Pan Out

[Reynard]

This isn't really on the subject, but is an update on the campaign that inspired the thread:

The players are split on whether they want to just go straight after the BBEG -- which will end the campaign, one way or the other -- versus tying up the loose threads that have been introduced throughout the game.

 

[darkbard]

The first time I really encountered it was in BitD, but I have discovered since (based on discussions on this very forum) that had more to do with the GMs own preferences than the actual BitD rules. But because that's where I discovered it, I ended up trying to run Scum and Villainy that way, and it was a suboptimal experience. Talking to friends who play more narrative games than I do, it is clear the "writer's room" is a thing in some games. But since I tend to run much more traditional RPGs, I have not encountered it since that failed run at S&V.

As an aside, one of these days I have to give S&V another go. I liked a lot about that game.

Surely you understand that BitD is not in any way conducive to "writers' room" play. Your citing a singular GM preference and your own subsequent misunderstanding and misapplication to your S&V game (and the latter's "suboptimal" experience) demonstrate this, right? Against the sea of actual play examples and discussions you and others have seen presented again and again in these conversations. Running a game incorrectly is not evidence in support of your hypothesis about a kind of game!

 

[Reynard]

Surely you understand that BitD is not in any way conducive to "writers' room" play. Your citing a singular GM preference and your own subsequent misunderstanding and misapplication to your S&V game (and the latter's "suboptimal" experience) demonstrate this, right? Against the sea of actual play examples and discussions you and others have seen presented again and again in these conversations. Running a game incorrectly is not evidence in support of your hypothesis about a kind of game!

Yeah, I am pretty sure I explicitly said all that in the post you quoted, so i am not entirely sure what your point in reiterating it is.

if your contention is that those kinds of narrative games don't exist, you are demonstrably wrong. If that isn't what you are saying, then what ARE you saying?

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, I am pretty sure I explicitly said all that in the post you quoted, so i am not entirely sure what your point in reiterating it is.

if your contention is that those kinds of narrative games don't exist, you are demonstrably wrong. If that isn't what you are saying, then what ARE you saying?

Well, when asked to provide an example of a game where “we stop the narrative to sit around and decide what would be cooler to have happen next” you provided Blades in the Dark.

You then stated that it was more a flaw in how the GM was handling things, which then led to you running Scum & Villainy similarly… so I think @darkbard is wondering why you’d offer it as an example if it doesn’t actually involve the “writer’s room” approach.

And if Blades in the Dark and Scum & Villainy don’t actually fit that description, then the question of what games you have in mind still stands.

So… to what RPG do you think the “writers’ room” label applies when the game is played as intended?

 

[zakael19]

Even in cases where we might take some time in a BITD etc game to discover what's happening next, that's been in the context of "what opportunities do we want to pursue" or "hey, did you want to follow up on faction A or B next time we play?" Typically in the context of framing out the next score, having that meta channel open. Once we get the framework, we'll go back to the mechanics and situations to develop the fiction out and make that Engagement roll. I dont think I've ever done any explicit "let's figure out how to make this cooler" stuff once the Engagement Roll is made and we're in scorespace.

The most "writers room" stuff I personally see expressed in my gaming circles is in D&D 5e! I've listened to my players talk about what stuff they're planning to cover in their next 5e game they play together, what character beats they're working out with the DM, what sort of stuff two players are outlining to spring on a 3rd one. It's far more detailed then like an end of session wish to "dig into my PC's relationship with their ex" or whatever, and more getting towards active scripting of plot beats!