Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="zarionofarabel" data-source="post: 9774929" data-attributes="member: 7026405">Oh yeah, do that all the time. I run all knowledge skills in a manner similar to how Burning Wheel's Wises work, no matter the system. So most of the time when a player makes a knowledge skill check it's not a prompt for me as GM to provide more information, it can be, but usually isn't. In most cases it's to check the accuracy of a fact the player has added to the shared fiction in a statement immediately prior to the roll. If the roll succeeds then the fact the player has stated is true. If the roll fails then the fact is mostly true (or sometimes false, but much less often as that is boring) with the details being slightly different. So, for example, a player might state that there is a Wizard's Tower in the nearby woods, then roll a Knowledge (Local Area) check. If the check succeeds, then there is in fact a Wizard's Tower in the nearby woods. If the check fails then something about the information the PC has is flawed. Perhaps it's not a Tower but a Hidden Grotto, that is still in the nearby woods, but must be searched for. Or perhaps there is indeed a Wizard's Tower nearby, but instead of being in the woods it's in the hills on the far side of the woods so a longer journey needs to be made to reach it.Sometimes I literally just ask players to add things to the fiction, particularly if it is facts pertaining to aspects of the world directly tied to their PC.Well, once fiction is established it remains true. Once it's established that there is a Wizard's Tower located in the nearby woods, it will remain so unless circumstances within the ficition (the PCs burn it down; a demon teleports it into the Abyss) cause that fact to change.Sometimes the dice are in control. This is especially true in circumstances where conflict is happening. I as GM don't decide if an NPC successfully stabs a PC, the dice dictate the outcome of the NPC's attack.I am beholden to the fiction, once it is established. That's were my whole "it doesn't matter if you prep it beforehand or make it up on the fly" comes from. You can have a thousand pages of prepped material, but, until that material actually becomes established as fact within the narrative, it's just as non-existent as something I haven't ad libbed into the narrative.Yeah, I think I failed to properly explain how I go about ad libbing narrative elements.I do agree that Schrodinger's Dungeon can be a powerful railroading tool. I actively strive to ensure that it does not become that.Okay, so, I would "write down" where the ring is by deciding where it is and then remember where I decided it was and not changing it's location on a whim. The only difference is that I wouldn't physically write it down on a piece of paper (I actually might as I take a buttload of notes during play). Also, if I were to ad lib the existence of the three chests I would also decide which chest the ring is at the same time.Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the I watched too. I thought it was a great example of how NOT to GM a game! I felt sorry for Will, and there was another player too if I remember correctly. What a crappy experience that must have been, and a really bad way to promote TTRPGs IMHO.</blockquote>

Verification