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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9021289" data-attributes="member: 42582">Torchbearer uses a cycle of phases - Adventure Phase, Camp Phase, Town Phase. All the players must be in the same phase at the same time. The game starts (as in, the first session begins) in Adventure Phase. It is possible to move from any phase to any other phase (provided certain conditions, in-fiction and mechanical, are satisfied) except from Town Phase to Camp Phase.The GM is instructed, as the players begin winding up their Town Phase actions, to introduce the &quot;hooks&quot; for the next adventure. These have three functions, as far as I can tell: (i) to let the players know where the action is; (ii) to provide information that skilled players can use to get an advantage (eg when my players worked out that the next adventure might involve undead, they purchased holy water; and when they knew the next adventure would involve trying to abjure a spirt, they purchased religious medallions that would boost some of their rolls); and (iii) to provide a type of fictional &quot;fig leaf&quot; to maintain the continuity of the imagined in-fiction events (this is the &quot;charade&quot; I mentioned).The motivation for play isn't provided by any of (i) to (iii), I don't think. That's already presupposed, insofar as the players have turned up to the session. The introduction of the hooks that underpin (i) to (iii) is done following the usual rules of the game.I'm missing the connection between this and rule zero.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 9021289, member: 42582"] Torchbearer uses a cycle of phases - Adventure Phase, Camp Phase, Town Phase. All the players must be in the same phase at the same time. The game starts (as in, the first session begins) in Adventure Phase. It is possible to move from any phase to any other phase (provided certain conditions, in-fiction and mechanical, are satisfied) except from Town Phase to Camp Phase. The GM is instructed, as the players begin winding up their Town Phase actions, to introduce the "hooks" for the next adventure. These have three functions, as far as I can tell: (i) to let the players know where the action is; (ii) to provide information that skilled players can use to get an advantage (eg when my players worked out that the next adventure might involve undead, they purchased holy water; and when they knew the next adventure would involve trying to abjure a spirt, they purchased religious medallions that would boost some of their rolls); and (iii) to provide a type of fictional "fig leaf" to maintain the continuity of the imagined in-fiction events (this is the "charade" I mentioned). The motivation for play isn't provided by any of (i) to (iii), I don't think. That's already presupposed, insofar as the players have turned up to the session. The introduction of the hooks that underpin (i) to (iii) is done following the usual rules of the game. I'm missing the connection between this and rule zero. [/QUOTE]

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