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Where does the punitive approach to pc death come from?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6536059" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I'm not the person you asked. And I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "storytelling" - especially with a follow-up post contrasting RPGs and "storytelling games".</p><p></p><p>But I'll give two examples of rules that I think facilitate the creation of story in an RPG. One is more player-side, the other is more GM-side. And by "story" I mean story in the semi-technical sense of <em>rising action, climax, resolution</em> - as opposed to just <em>a sequence of events</em>, which any RPG should give rise to.</p><p></p><p>Both rules are found in Burning Wheel, but at least one can be fairy easily adapted to other sytems.</p><p></p><p>The first rule is more player-side: each PC has a Circles attribute, which (just like a skill or stat) is a number that can be used to make a check. A Circles check is made to try and encounter a helpful NPC from the PC's past. The DC is determined according to considerations of how likely it is that a character of that sort would be in the area, what sort of relation the NPC might have to the PC (given the PC's background), etc.</p><p></p><p>If successful, the PC meets the NPC. If unsuccessful, the GM gets to adjudicate - no one is met, or the NPC is met but turns out to be an old enemy, or otherwise hostile, rather than helpful, etc.</p><p></p><p>Here are some links to write-ups of recent BW sessions I've GMed: <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?736425-Burning-Wheel-First-Burning-Wheel-session" target="_blank">failed Circles check</a> and <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?393493-Maiden-Voyage-(Penumbra-d20-module)&p=6534221&viewfull=1#post6534221" target="_blank">successful Circles check</a>.</p><p></p><p>The second rule is more GM-side: "fail forward" adjudication of unsuccessful checks. In BW, the key is to distinguish "intent" and "task". If the player succeeds in the check, the PC succeeds at the task and achieves what s/he intended. If the player fails, the GM narrates the consequences, but focusing more heavily on failure of intent than failure of task - which encourages the introduction of complications rather than roadblocks.</p><p></p><p>I can give other examples too if you're interested!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6536059, member: 42582"] I'm not the person you asked. And I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "storytelling" - especially with a follow-up post contrasting RPGs and "storytelling games". But I'll give two examples of rules that I think facilitate the creation of story in an RPG. One is more player-side, the other is more GM-side. And by "story" I mean story in the semi-technical sense of [I]rising action, climax, resolution[/I] - as opposed to just [I]a sequence of events[/I], which any RPG should give rise to. Both rules are found in Burning Wheel, but at least one can be fairy easily adapted to other sytems. The first rule is more player-side: each PC has a Circles attribute, which (just like a skill or stat) is a number that can be used to make a check. A Circles check is made to try and encounter a helpful NPC from the PC's past. The DC is determined according to considerations of how likely it is that a character of that sort would be in the area, what sort of relation the NPC might have to the PC (given the PC's background), etc. If successful, the PC meets the NPC. If unsuccessful, the GM gets to adjudicate - no one is met, or the NPC is met but turns out to be an old enemy, or otherwise hostile, rather than helpful, etc. Here are some links to write-ups of recent BW sessions I've GMed: [url=http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?736425-Burning-Wheel-First-Burning-Wheel-session]failed Circles check[/url] and [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?393493-Maiden-Voyage-(Penumbra-d20-module)&p=6534221&viewfull=1#post6534221]successful Circles check[/url]. The second rule is more GM-side: "fail forward" adjudication of unsuccessful checks. In BW, the key is to distinguish "intent" and "task". If the player succeeds in the check, the PC succeeds at the task and achieves what s/he intended. If the player fails, the GM narrates the consequences, but focusing more heavily on failure of intent than failure of task - which encourages the introduction of complications rather than roadblocks. I can give other examples too if you're interested! [/QUOTE]
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